Saudi Arabia issues deepfake guidelines as AI-driven identity threats rise

Saudi Arabia has unveiled new rules to confront the growing risks posed by deepfakes, part of its wider battle against digital attackers exploiting artificial media.

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) released the document “Deepfakes Guidelines Mitigating Risks While Fostering Innovation,” warning that manipulated content created with generative AI is becoming harder to detect as tools spread more widely.

SDAIA acknowledged positive uses of synthetic media in education, healthcare and entertainment, but cautioned that deepfakes are increasingly weaponized for fraud, impersonation and misinformation. The guidelines highlight dangerous practices such as voice and facial biometric impersonation used to bypass traditional security systems.

The new framework requires developers and creators to follow strict ethical and regulatory standards. These include protecting personal data, securing explicit consent and embedding safeguards such as digital watermarks and source verification.

The deepfake guidelines reflect Saudi Arabia’s focus on resilience in its digital transformation under Vision 2030. The rapid digital onboarding boom has outpaced security, opening up a massive new front for AI-generated deepfake attacks. This threat increase is not only faced by Saudi Arabia but across the wider region, which perhaps necessitates a broader response and strategy.

Saudi Arabia is not alone. Governments, financial institutions and identity providers worldwide are increasingly treating deepfake detection as a foundational security capability rather than a niche fraud tool. Biometric Update’s 2026 Deepfake Fraud Detection Market Report examines how organizations are deploying deepfake detection across identity verification, authentication, payments and continuous fraud prevention as AI-generated attacks become more sophisticated.

Digital identity enters its trust phase

Saudi Arabia is not alone in confronting the next phase of digital transformation. The Middle East has become one of the world’s most advanced digital identity regions, with UAE Pass, Saudi Arabia’s Absher and Dubai’s paperless government platforms supporting millions of users and digital transactions.

As those systems mature, attention is shifting from expanding digital services to ensuring they remain trustworthy in the face of AI-generated impersonation.

The SDAIA guidance reflects that evolution by recommending stronger provenance, consent and verification mechanisms alongside technical safeguards such as digital watermarking.

Industry participants argue that future identity systems will require additional trust layers. Stefan Deiss, cofounder and CEO of The Hashgraph Group, says cryptographic verification, decentralized credentials and distributed ledgers could reduce reliance on centralized identity databases while allowing individuals to control how their identity information is shared.

Whether governments ultimately adopt decentralized identity or alternative trust architectures, the direction is becoming clearer. The challenge is no longer simply issuing digital identities but ensuring they remain trustworthy throughout every digital interaction.

Article Topics

AI fraud  |  deepfake detection  |  deepfakes  |  generative AI  |  Saudi Arabia  |  The Hashgraph Group