How to Properly Label Social Media Ads in the UAE: Mandatory Rules, Fines, and Our Recommendations

The world is unimaginable without influencer marketing and social media advertising, and each country has its own rules governing this vast market for promoting goods and services. In addition to standard advertising requirements such as ethical conduct, prohibiting insults to nationality, race, religion, state symbols, and other requirements, clients in the UAE must also comply with labeling regulations.

In this article, the experts at the international team at Antwort Law will explain how to properly label online advertising in the UAE, based on the requirements of the UAE Media Council and the provisions of Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection. We regularly work with the Media Council and support brands, agencies, and influencers, so we offer practical instructions without unnecessary theory.

Unlike many other countries, the UAE has a dedicated monitoring team that monitors advertising integrations on social media on a daily basis. Proper labeling of commercial content is a mandatory legal requirement, regardless of whether the advertising was paid for financially by the client. This can include any form of non-financial compensation, such as barter, gifts, invitations to events, and more. Therefore, every social media user who recommends a product or service to their followers in exchange for something must clearly indicate to their audience that it is advertising.

The regulator actively monitors Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, as mentioned above, manually. Fines can be imposed on both bloggers and brands. Fines range from 5,000–20,000 AED for incorrect or hidden labeling to 100,000 AED for operating without a media license, as well as account blocking for repeat violations. So, how do you label advertising? It's actually not as difficult as it seems, as the regulator has made the labeling format relatively flexible.

First, you can use any of the following hashtags:

• #ad
• #advertisement
• #Sponsored
• #Paid partnership

Second, the hashtag must be visible and appear on every piece of content, such as in a series of social media stories – in each story; in posts – on the image itself or at the beginning of the text, as each image is considered an independent unit. For videos, it must appear in the first few seconds, both visually and, if necessary, in the description. This means even if someone watches the video without sound, the hashtag must still be visible.

If you haven't received any benefit from advertising in any form, you don't have a contract with the brand, and you're simply sharing your opinion, then labeling isn't necessary. However, as soon as any form of compensation is introduced, it becomes mandatory.

Although our article concerns the labeling of commercial content on social media in the UAE, we also want to warn readers that, in addition to complying with the general rules established by the Media Council, bloggers/influencers posting paid content are required to have an Advertisement Permit, a new type of permit, starting in October 2025.

At Antwort Law, we constantly work with the UAE Media Council to address our clients' needs, as every business requires advertising. We help companies and bloggers:

— obtain Advertisement Permits and Media Licenses;

— draft compliant blogger-brand agreements;

— protect clients against inquiries and inspections by the UAE Media Council;

— fully establish advertising compliance for businesses.

Contact us if you have any questions regarding the proper placement of advertising, both online and offline, in the UAE. We will be happy to assist you.

Lidia Ivanova

International lawyer
Antwort Law