Alert for Influencers, promoters, news sites, news accounts and advertisers in Kuwait

If you post sponsored content, run a small online shop through Instagram, or even just do the odd paid shoutout for a friend’s business, Kuwait’s new media law now has something to say about you.

The law doesn’t just target big media houses. It reaches into the everyday world of influencer posts, giveaway reels, AI-generated adverts and online competitions — the kind of content most of us scroll past every day in Kuwait.

Here’s what’s actually in it, and who needs to pay attention.

Who exactly does this apply to?

The law is written broadly on purpose. According to the legislation, it covers:

• Social media influencers who promote products, services or brands, whether they’re paid in cash, free products, or nothing at all
• Advertisers and promoters, including businesses running their own campaigns
• Media professionals involved in producing or publishing promotional material
• Anyone with a financial interest in a campaign — even if they never appear in the content themselves, such as someone funding or directing a promotion behind the scenes
• Citizens, expats and even visitors to Kuwait, as long as their content targets an audience here

That last point matters. You don’t need to live in Kuwait, or even be in the country, for this law to apply to your content if Kuwaiti audiences are the target.

So what’s actually new here?

Chapter Eight of the law, covering Articles 34 to 37, is where most of this sits. It deals specifically with advocates and advertisers on social media and responds to something earlier Kuwaiti legislation never really addressed in detail: the sheer reach influencer content now has over public opinion and buying decisions.

Under these articles, a licence may be required before you start any advertising or promotional activity, whether or not money changes hands. The executive regulations — still to come — will spell out exactly when a licence is needed and under what conditions.

Once applied for, a licence should be processed within 60 days. It’s valid for two years and can be renewed. License holders have to stick to media content standards, respect people’s privacy, and never use someone’s name or image without permission.

Separately, Chapter Twelve (Articles 51 to 53) deals with advertising and publicity more broadly. It bans publishing adverts, marketing or promotional material — directly or indirectly, through any means — for people, products, services, shops, companies, exhibitions or events, unless the relevant ministry has issued the required licence.

The same rule applies to competitions and gift distribution, paid or free. So that giveaway reel offering a free abaya or a phone to whoever shares and tags three friends? That now falls under licensing requirements too.

Disclosure is the big theme

Across both chapters, one requirement repeats again and again: promotional content must look like promotional content. Advertisers, promoters, media professionals and anyone with a stake in a campaign must make sure the material clearly identifies itself as an ad or promotion.

The point is simple — stop disguised advertising from looking like someone’s genuine personal opinion or independent review. If you’ve ever scrolled past a post that reads like a personal recommendation but is actually paid, this is exactly the practice the law is targeting.

There is one carve-out: content published by an establishment through its own website, app or official account, provided it fits the purposes and exceptions already set out in Clause 2 of Article 30.

The law also extends responsibility beyond the person on camera. Anyone who financially backs, directs or benefits from a promotional campaign can be held accountable too, even if they never appear in the content themselves. This closes an obvious loophole where a business owner funds an influencer campaign but technically never