How UAE Businesses Can Stay Compliant with New AI Data Regulations
DUBAI — Businesses in the UAE will face closer scrutiny over their use of artificial intelligence and data governance after the Gulf state consolidated oversight of both under a single regulator, the Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority.
The new authority combines three government entities and reports directly to the UAE cabinet. For companies, the most significant change is its oversight of the Personal Data Protection Law, which has been in force since 2022 but previously lacked a fully operational supervisory authority.
Organisations will need to devote greater resources to compliance as enforcement becomes more active. Breaches can trigger investigations and administrative penalties, though the UAE has yet to publish a schedule of fines. Companies will also be expected to demonstrate that personal data is collected and used lawfully, protected with appropriate safeguards, and governed in a way that supports responsible deployment of advanced systems.
Gabriele Obino, vice president for southern Europe and the Middle East at data management platform Denodo, told AGBI that the new structure delivers certainty for businesses. “Bringing them under one authority gives organisations a clearer line of sight when making long-term investment decisions,” he said.
Obino noted that compliance stops being purely a legal matter and becomes an operational one. “Instead of asking whether they have a privacy policy on file, organisations will need to demonstrate how data moves across the business, how AI draws on that information, and who is accountable when something goes wrong.”
He added that many companies have invested in models and platforms without building the trusted data foundation needed to support deployment at enterprise scale. “The challenge is rarely the AI itself; it is whether that AI can access the right information, at the right time and in the right business context.”
Obino said the UAE is recognising that trusted data and effective governance matter just as much as access to technology. “The conversation is shifting from encouraging adoption to ensuring AI can be deployed responsibly, at scale and with confidence.”
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