Are You PDPL Compliant?
Powerful, Affordable solutions for Compliance with Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law
Companies around the world are increasingly finding Saudi Arabia to be a lucrative market, and as your web presence in the kingdom grows, you need to be acutely aware of the country’s new personal data protection act.
Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law applies to businesses that operate in the country and requires that they collect, use, share, store, update, or transfer data about Saudi Arabians only for the purpose of providing goods and services or for monitoring the behavior of website visitors.
Like most other data protection laws, the Saudi Arabia PDPL applies to businesses even if they do not have a physical presence in the country. The law is on the books but does not go into full enforcement until March 2023, meaning your organization and its website still have time to ensure it complies with this emerging privacy standard.
What Is Saudi Arabia’s PDPL?
The Saudi Arabia Personal Data Protection Law is a new law that governs how businesses operating in the country collect, use, store, transfer, share, and update data about residents of the kingdom. The law is similar to, though not quite the same as, the GDPR. Note, also, that this law is different from the Bahrain Personal Data Protection law.
- The PDPL applies to any organization located outside of the country that is processing the personal data of people who live in Saudi Arabia.
- With only a few exceptions, personal data cannot be processed without the consent of the data owner, and the purpose of the processing also cannot be changed.
- The law prohibits the transfer of personal information or its disclosure outside of Saudi Arabia except in a few limited circumstances.
- An organization that controls collected personal data must upload the record of data processing activities to an electronic portal the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, which is the organization charged with overseeing and enforcing the PDPL from 2023 until 2025.
- The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority will be responsible for issuing licenses to organizations whose activities fall under the purview of the PDPL.
Confused About the PDPL? We Can Help
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