The Arab Institute for Law and Artificial Intelligence

Personal Data Protection Law

legislationPage.backToList
legislationPage.publishedOn
legislationPage.country
legislationPage.countries.SA
legislationPage.category
legislationPage.categories.ai-governance
legislationPage.origin
legislationPage.origins.arabic

Personal Data Protection Law (Saudi Arabia): This Law aims to protect individuals' privacy and regulate the collection, processing, and disclosure of personal data in accordance with the principles of legality, transparency, and security. It defines the rights of data subjects and the obligations of data controllers, thereby fostering trust in the digital economy. It also constitutes a fundamental pillar for data governance and artificial intelligence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Personal Data Protection Law was issued in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the aim of regulating the collection, processing, disclosure, and protection of personal data. This enhances individuals' privacy and solidifies trust in the digital environment, aligning with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and digital transformation.

The Law establishes a legal framework that balances enabling innovation and the digital economy on one hand, with protecting the rights of data subjects on the other. This is achieved by regulating the processes of data collection, use, storage, transfer, and disclosure according to specific controls.

The Law stipulates a set of rights for data subjects, most notably the right to be informed of the purpose of data collection, the right to access personal data, to request its rectification or updating, and to request its erasure in lawful cases, in addition to regulating the mechanisms for consent to processing and privacy protection.

The Law also imposes obligations on public and private entities that process personal data, including adherence to the principles of legality and transparency, limiting data collection to what is necessary for the specified purpose, adopting appropriate security measures to protect it, reporting data breach incidents when required, and compliance with controls related to the transfer of personal data outside the Kingdom.