Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA)

What it does

The national authority for data and AI, established 2019, reporting to the Prime Minister. Unusually for this list it is BOTH a promoter and a real regulator: it is the competent authority for the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL), which carries criminal penalties for certain disclosure offences and administrative fines, and it issues AI Ethics Principles (2023, updated 2025), generative-AI guidelines for government and public use, and data-governance regulations. It also runs the National Center for AI (NCAI) and hosts the Global AI Summit. AI-specific rules remain principles-based rather than binding statute.

Its powers

fine

Honest assessment

SDAIA publishes substantial English-language material and has run public consultations on draft data regulations through the Saudi 'Istitlaa' public consultation platform — which is a genuine, if Arabic-first, channel. But SDAIA's site actively blocks automated access, I could verify no contact address, and there is no AI-specific complaint route. PDPL complaints are for data subjects with a Saudi nexus. No frontier-risk mandate whatsoever.

Notes

Saudi Arabia is not a network member. The 2025 update to the AI Ethics Principles is the most recent AI-governance instrument I could confirm.