Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia's Digital Content Council will undertake 36 initiatives to develop local digital content by taking advantage of the government support amounting to SR4.2 billion. The Council of Ministers on Tuesday approved regulating the council to stimulate the digital content market as well as to enhance its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and provide quality jobs. The initiatives will focus on expanding the proportion of local content and providing jobs in four main markets: video, audio, electronic games, and digital advertising. The council's objectives include raising the percentage of revenues retained within the local economy, developing local talent through qualifying and development programs, as well as improving legislation and regulations in a way that stimulates the growth of the digital content market. The council seeks to regulate and activate the digital content market in the Kingdom through three tracks. The first one is to facilitate the participation of the private sector and entrepreneurs in the market through rules and regulations, and intellectual property rights. The second is to create integrated governance that stimulates expansion and growth and encourages innovation, in addition to stimulating the digital content market in a way attracting investments while the third one is to develop digital content infrastructure. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) said that the Digital Content Council was formed in partnership with a number of government bodies, including the Ministry of Media, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Investment, in addition to the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), the General Commission for Audio-Visual Media and the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP). The council will highlight investment opportunities in the Kingdom and stimulate entrepreneurship and attract investors of projects to invest in the digital content sector.
