LONDON: A number of Gulf media voices have called for Google and Facebook to be held to account for the free publication of locally-produced content.
The US tech titans have been accused of profiting from the free flow of news in the region, without being registered and recognized as media businesses in Gulf countries, or being locally accountable for the news and content they distribute.
Regional voices from media buyers and advertising agencies have grown increasingly shrill in the last few weeks, with industry chiefs such as Abdul Hamid Ahmad, editor-in-chief of UAE-based Gulf News, calling the current status quo “a matter of national security.”
The region’s publishers and media buying houses have been reeling in the wake of a huge downturn in spend on traditional media channels, such as print and TV, as online social media aggregators rake in bumper profits from republishing local media content.
According to US research firm eMarketer, digital spending will account for 47 percent of global advertizing spend in 2018, growing to 53.9 percent in 2022.
“Amazon pays a similar amount (of taxes) to the grocery next door… while merely siphoning off revenue from the country and the region,” wrote Ahmad in a column published in Gulf News earlier this month.
Ahmad called for “fairer” taxes for global tech companies, such as Google and Facebook. He also asked for government intervention to protect national publishers by instructing big local companies to advertise in local media.
Julian Hawari, co-CEO of Dubai- and Beirut-based publishing firm Mediaquest, said the regional industry is facing “many different problems at the same time.”
He told Arab News that “more attention” needs to be paid to regulating the market while still allowing it to operate freely. Hawari said: “It’s about creating a level playing ground for global players and local players, so that there is one rule in the market for all. This would greatly alleviate the current challenges for local publishers.” 
Hawari recommended that regional governments look at taxation models to address inequalities in the market, as well as implementing anti-dumping laws to protect local outlets.
Referring to anti-dumping legislation, Hawari said: “Some of the global players have extra inventory that costs them nothing, so they can sell this inventory cheaply at the last minute.
“It creates a situation where they are dumping the inventory and burning the local players. In effect, by selling cheap they are destroying the market. The industry needs to come together to resolve this unfairness.”
However, the CEO said that “singling out” players was not the answer and any new regulations must not stifle the market. “We just must create a level ground so that global players are not unfairly squeezing local media producers and agencies.”
Hawari said that dwindling ad profits and globalization of the local media market threatens the survival and quality of national journalism. “The local media is homegrown and has always been a conduit to some extent between the people and the government. If local media becomes irrelevant, there will no longer be this valuable exchange.
“When information is global you can’t check the reality of the information and the newsmakers are not bound by local laws... this is where you veer into the territory of fake news. The consequences could be terrible because content is the key and it is the craft of the media. (Quality content firms) need quality journalists and this costs money.”
Anthony Milne, chief commercial officer at Dubai-based publishing house Motivate, suggested the tech titans could subsidize services for publishers to even out the playing field.
“Facebook and Google use publishers’ content and take payment for Ad Word campaigns or content boosting. This illustrates how one-sided the relationship is. At the very least, if publishers received free access to these services, they would stand to benefit from the increased exposure that their content receives and drive more revenue to support their businesses.”
Milne added: “Publishers are creating content that Facebook and Google are obtaining at no cost that enables them to enhance their platforms. This allows them to earn revenue off the back of the investment that publishers have made in their content.
“Publishers are then at the mercy of Google and Facebook when they change algorithms making content less visible, leading to publishers having to further invest in changing their business models.
“From a media perspective, the industry needs to take a hard look
at itself. Rather than investing in platforms that are reliant on publishers’ content to provide good channels of communication, look to the content creators and invest in them.”
Hawari said that local players are also feeling the pressure of national content restrictions, while global players are unfettered by censorship or cultural guidelines. “You cannot have two sets of content, the local media needs to push the government to look at unification measures,” he said.
However, Ahmad takes a more hard-line view. “Priority on ad spending should be on the national media and not on international
media. In fact, in doing this, it will not just benefit newspapers and news organizations, but it will be in favor of national interest and sovereignty. If we do not have our own media, we will not have our own voice when we need it. It preserves our identity and social and cultural values — hallmarks of a vibrant society.”
A Google spokesperson told Arab News: “The web is very dynamic and is increasingly offering more choice for users. Google in MENA has long been committed to helping local news publishers and media companies grow, from committing to training 4,000 journalists in the region and driving clicks to publishers’ websites for free, to always paying the majority revenue share back to publishers.”
Google has previously stated that “publishing has been core to Google’s mission from the beginning” and said it drives more than 10 billion clicks a month globally to publishers’ websites for free.
The company distributes 71.9 percent of its display ad revenues across all formats to publishers on a revenue share basis. The firm said it paid $12.6 billion to publishers in 2017
Gulf publishers slam tech firms like Google for ‘unfair’ publishing war
Gulf publishers slam tech firms like Google for ‘unfair’ publishing war
A look back at how Arab News marked its 50th anniversary
- In a year crowded with news, the paper still managed to innovate and leverage AI to become available in 50 languages
- Golden Jubilee Gala, held at the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh, now available to watch on YouTube
RIYADH: In 2025, the global news agenda was crowded with headlines concerning wars, elections and rapid technological change.
Inside the newsroom of Arab News, the year carried additional weight: Saudi Arabia’s first English-language daily marked its 50th anniversary.
And with an industry going through turmoil worldwide, the challenge inside the newsroom was how to turn a midlife crisis into a midlife opportunity.
For the newspaper’s team members, the milestone was less about nostalgia than about ensuring the publication could thrive in a rapidly changing and evolving media landscape.
“We did not want just to celebrate our past,” said Faisal J. Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News. “But more importantly, we were constantly thinking of how we can keep Arab News relevant for the next five decades.”
The solution, he added, came down to two words: “Artificial intelligence.”
For the Arab News newsroom, AI was not a replacement for journalism but as a tool to extend it.
“It was like having three eyes at once: one on the past, one on the present, and one on the future,” said Noor Nugali, the newspaper’s deputy editor-in-chief.
One of the first initiatives was the 50th anniversary commemorative edition, designed as a compact historical record of the region told through Arab News’ own reporting.
“It was meant to be like a mini history book, telling the history of the region using Arab News’ archive with a story from each year,” said Siraj Wahab, acting executive editor of the newspaper.
The issue, he added, traced events ranging from the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war in 1975 to the swearing-in of Donald Trump, while also paying homage to former editors-in-chief who shaped the newspaper’s direction over five decades.
The anniversary edition, however, was only one part of a broader strategy to signal Arab News’ focus on the future.
To that end, the paper partnered with Google to launch the region’s first AI-produced podcast using NotebookLM, an experimental tool that synthesizes reporting and archival material into audio storytelling.
The project marked a regional first in newsroom-led AI audio production.
The podcast was unveiled during a special 50th anniversary ceremony in mid-November, held on the sidelines of the Arab Media Forum, hosted by the Dubai Future Foundation. The event in the UAE’s commercial hub drew regional media leaders and officials.
Remarks at the event highlighted the project as an example of innovation in legacy media, positioning Arab News as a case study in digital reinvention rather than preservation alone.
“This is a great initiative, and I’m happy that it came from Arab News as a leading media platform, and I hope to see more such initiatives in the Arab world especially,” said Mona Al-Marri, director-general of the Government of Dubai Media Office, on the sidelines of the event.
“AI is the future, and no one should deny this. It will take over so many sectors. We have to be ready for it and be part of it and be ahead of anyone else in this interesting field.”
Behind the scenes, another long-form project was taking shape: a documentary chronicling Arab News’ origins and its transformation into a global, digital-first newsroom.
“While all this was happening, we were also working in-house on a documentary telling the origin story of Arab News and how it transformed under the current editor into a more global, more digital operation,” said Nugali.
The result was “Rewriting Arab News,” a documentary examining the paper’s digital transformation and its navigation of Saudi Arabia’s reforms between 2016 and 2018. The film charted editorial shifts, newsroom restructuring and the challenges of reporting during a period of rapid national change.
The documentary was screened at the Frontline Club in London, the European Union Embassy, Westminster University, and the World Media Congress in Bahrain. It later became available on the streaming platform Shahid and onboard Saudi Arabian Airlines.
It was also nominated for an Association for International Broadcasting award.
In early July, a special screening of the documentary took place at the EU Embassy in Riyadh. During the event, EU Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Christophe Farnaud described the film as an “embodiment” of the “incredible changes” that the Kingdom is undergoing.
“I particularly appreciate … the historical dimension, when (Arab News) was created in 1975 — that was also a project corresponding to the new role of the Kingdom,” Farnaud said. “Now the Kingdom has entered a new phase, a spectacular phase of transformation.”
Part of the documentary is narrated by Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the former Saudi ambassador to the US, who in the film delves into the paper’s origins.
The grand slam of the anniversary year was the Golden Jubilee of Arab News gala, held in late September in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter.
Hosted by the Dean of Diplomatic Corps in Saudi Arabia and Ambassador of Djibouti to Riyadh Dya-Eddine Said Bamakhrama, the evening featured a keynote address by Prince Turki, who spoke about Arab News’ founding under his father, the late King Faisal, and its original mission to present the Kingdom to the English-speaking world.
Arab News was established in Jeddah in 1975 by brothers Hisham and Mohammed Ali Hafiz under the slogan to give Arabs a voice in English while documenting the major transformations taking place across the Middle East.
The two founders were honored with a special trophy presented by Prince Turki, Assistant Media Minister Abdullah Maghlouth, Editor-in-Chief Abbas, and family member and renowned columnist Talat Hafiz on behalf of the founders.
During the gala, Abbas announced Arab News’ most ambitious expansion yet: the launch of the publication in 50 languages, unveiled later at the World Media Congress in Madrid in cooperation with Camb.AI.
The Madrid launch in October underscored Arab News’ aim to reposition itself not simply as a regional paper, but as a global platform for Saudi and Middle Eastern perspectives.
The event was attended by Princess Haifa bint Abdulaziz Al-Mogrin, the Saudi ambassador to Spain; Arab and Spanish diplomats; and senior editors and executives.
As the anniversary year concluded, Arab News released the full video of the Golden Jubilee Gala to the public for the first time, making the event accessible beyond the room in which it was held.
For a newspaper founded in an era of typewriters and wire copy, the message of its 50th year was clear: longevity alone is not enough. Relevance, the newsroom concluded, now depends on how well journalism adapts without losing sight of its past.
