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United Arab Emirates — AI Governance Cheat Sheet

Middle East · 6 laws tracked · Refreshed 2026-05-15

Key laws

LawStatusDate
UAE PDPLIn force2022-01-02
UAE AI Strategy 2031In force2023-10-01
ADGM DPR 2021In force2021-02-14
DIFC DPL 2020In force2020-10-01
UAE Cybercrime LawIn force2022-01-02
UAE Health AI PolicyIn force2023-01-01

Articles by topic

  • UAE PDPL Art. 4: cases where personal data may be processed without the data subject's consent (legal exceptions)
  • UAE PDPL Art. 5: general rules / personal data processing controls (lawfulness, fairness, purpose limitation, accuracy, storage limitation, security)
  • UAE PDPL Art. 6: conditions for valid consent of the data subject
  • UAE PDPL Art. 7: the Controller's general obligations (NOT the processor)
  • UAE AI Strategy 2031 Strategy Pillar 1: build a reputation as an AI destination — government adoption, regulatory environment, and infrastructure
  • UAE AI Strategy 2031 Strategy Pillar 2: increase the UAE's competitive assets in priority AI sectors (healthcare, transport, energy, education, government)
  • UAE AI Strategy 2031 Strategy Pillar 3: develop a fertile ecosystem for AI (talent, data, R&D)
  • UAE AI Strategy 2031 Strategy Pillar 4: adopt AI across customer services and government workflows