Saudi Arabia to Introduce Freedom of Information Law to Boost Innovation

Saudi Arabia will introduce a Freedom of Information Law in the near future, Communications and Information Technology Minister Eng. Abdullah Alswaha has announced, saying the legislation is intended to promote creativity and innovation while protecting national sovereignty and confidential information.

 

Speaking at a government press conference organised by the Ministry of Media in Riyadh, Alswaha said the Kingdom’s digital economy had grown by more than 75 per cent since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030, reaching SR522 billion. Employment in the digital sector has also increased to around 410,000 jobs.

 

The minister said the upcoming legislation would support greater access to information while maintaining appropriate safeguards for sensitive data and national interests.

 

Alswaha also highlighted the growing importance of the LEAP 2026 technology conference, held with the support of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The fifth edition of the global technology event, themed “Into New Worlds”, is being held at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center in Malham.

 

The four-day event features around 2,000 global technology brands, 1,000 speakers and hundreds of start-ups. Key areas on display include artificial intelligence, smart infrastructure, logistics technology and digital government services.

 

Alswaha said Saudi Arabia had emerged as a global leader in digital competitiveness and spectrum liberalisation. He said the National Technology Development Programme had supported more than 1,500 entrepreneurs and 5,000 companies, including nine companies valued at SR1 billion or more.

 

More than 3,000 servers have also been exported from the Kingdom to neighbouring countries, he said. Saudi Arabia now has more than 80 technical schools, while approximately 30,000 people have received training in artificial intelligence.

The minister said the country’s overall communications gap had fallen from 50 per cent to one per cent over the past decade, while the gap in services had declined to five per cent. The number of complaints had also dropped by 15 per cent.

 

According to Alswaha, fibre-optic penetration has reached 32 per cent, with 5.8 million homes covered. However, he said subscription rates remained below expectations and urged families to subscribe to fibre services to help expand opportunities for younger generations.

 

Saudi Arabia is also investing heavily in data centres, which Alswaha described as a key component of the Kingdom’s artificial intelligence strategy. He said data centres accounted for up to 60 per cent of the country’s technology investments, with more than 80 square kilometres allocated for their development.

 

The minister said Saudi Arabia had the capacity to reach three billion customers in the artificial intelligence sector from within its borders and serve one billion customers in its primary market. He also said the Kingdom was on track to become a leading energy provider for data centres.

 

In Al-Baha, 5G coverage currently stands at 49 per cent and is expected to reach 64 per cent by 2028. Fibre-optic connections have already been extended to 50,000 homes in the region, Alswaha said.

 

He also cited the Salla e-commerce platform as a national success story. The platform is valued at SR36 billion and has contributed to the creation of 100,000 jobs while enabling 120,000 online stores.

 

Major projects are also expected to be announced during LEAP 2026 in partnership with Amazon, NVIDIA and other global technology companies. Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform is also scheduled to be launched on the opening day of the conference.

 

Alswaha said Saudi Arabia had become the world’s leading country in digital readiness for 2025 and 2026, moving from a lower global ranking to first place in digital preparedness and organisational readiness.

 

He stressed that the Kingdom was transforming from a technology importer into a technology exporter, while strengthening its position as a global hub for innovation.

 

The minister said Saudi Arabia was also moving towards the top global ranking in the use of data and artificial intelligence across the public and private sectors. He added that the Kingdom aimed to become the world’s largest magnet for innovators and investors in the field, as it continues to expand its role in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies.

 

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