Content creators and social media influencers are having a field day in India

In UAE, Pro-Pak elements are dominating the YouTube channels in Info-war

- BY SUSHIL KUTTY

The contrast is like the darkness of last night and the day at 9am this morning. The ugly squat chaos in Delhi and the neat order in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE has a new licensing system for social media influencers and content creators. They have to get business licenses before applying for a media license from the UAE Media Council.

The operative word is “must”. Social media influencers and content creators must get a business license if they are “involved in money-making commercial activities”, says the UAE new media law. There is no such media law governing content creators in India.

Before the new UAE Media Law, all that was needed was a license from the UAE Media Council. Now, social media influencers and content creators have to get a business license first and then only can they apply for the media license from the UAE Media Council. For starters, the Media Council has waived off the fee for three years!

The UAE Media Council set into motion media regulation with the comprehensive Media Regulation Law, effective May 29, 2025. To obtain business licenses before taking media licenses marks a significant shift in UAE’s approach to digital media engagement and operations.

Is there an Indian equivalent? Social media influencers and content creators of India have a field day creating chaos in their domain and, even if there was a media law like the one introduced in the UAE, none of the You-Tube content creators or on other social media platforms would have bothered to follow the law.

Indians are notoriously serious law-breakers. And white-collar crime is allowed crime! Stealing content is like borrowing money and forgetting it. And there's a certain innocence in creating content for “views”. Also, loose talk in You-Tube videos isn’t murder!