The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) issued a regulation on partnerships with social media influencers on June 19, calling for compliance with the following requirements:
- social media influencers must have a license from ADDED for advertising activities;
- companies must be authorized by ADDED to advertise, promote and market their products;
- companies must check for a valid social media influencer's license when engaging in marketing collaborations.
For companies and social media influencers to obtain licenses and permits from ADDED, the submission of an application through the TAMM unified digital platform is required.
The license fee is:
- AED 1,250 for freelancers;
- AED 5,000 for companies.
However, there has been no clarification yet on whether the licenses are subject to annual renewal.
Violations of the requirements lead to fines of AED 3,000 to AED 10,000 or suspension of company activities.
The requirements will come into effect on July 1. There will be no exceptions: in particular, the rules will also apply to the state-owned companies.
In addi...