UAE Establishes Federal Authority for Artificial Intelligence and Data
UAE Establishes Federal Authority for Artificial Intelligence and Data
Publish Date: 2026-06-15 12:09:00
Source Domain: www.morganlewis.com
LawFlash
June 15, 2026
The United Arab Emirates has just made one of its most consequential regulatory moves in the technology space. On 14 June 2026, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the creation of the Federal Authority for Artificial Intelligence and Data (the Authority), a unified national body consolidating AI oversight, digital government, and data regulation under a single structure reporting directly to the Cabinet of the UAE.
WHAT WAS ANNOUNCED
The Authority will be led by the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications and will function as the UAE’s centralised umbrella institution for managing data, artificial intelligence, and digital government across the federation.
WHAT IT ABSORBS
The Authority consolidates three existing bodies: the UAE’s Artificial Intelligence Office, the Information and Digital Government Sector within the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), and the previously announced Emirates Data Office (the latter, though formally announced, has never became fully operational in practice).
This is not a cosmetic restructuring or a simple merger of functioning institutions. It represents a deliberate and thoughtful effort of the UAE to resolve the fragmentation that had, in practice, left meaningful questions about regulatory jurisdiction and enforcement unresolved.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS
The mandate is broad: setting unified national AI and data policy direction, proposing legislation and strategies, ensuring coherence between federal and local digital initiatives, establishing standards and guidelines for data and AI management, driving compliance across federal entities, building national R&D capacity, and expanding international AI partnerships.
Interestingly, it is not clear to what extent the Authority will be responsible for development and enforcement of…
