Riyadh: The Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday the personal Data Protection Law.
The new law protects personal data from unconsented collection and processing, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) announced. The law will be implemented within 6 months.
It will protect any personal data that might lead to identifying directly or indirectly the user from unconsented collection and processing, the Saudi Gazette reported.
The data include name, identification number, address, phone number, personal records. The law also covers inancial records and images, videos or any other identifying data .
The Data Protection Law will ensure the privacy of personal data. It will regulate the sharing of personal data and prevent the abuse of personal data.
The head of SDAIA Abdullah Al-Ghamdi said that the law will organize the process of disclosing personal data. Specific controls will ensure optimal use of it.
He assured that it’s not permissible to use personal means of communication for the purpose of marketing or awareness materials except with the approval of the owner of personal data, or the existence of a mechanism that enables him to express his desire to receive it or not.
The new law excludes awareness materials sent by public authorities.
Al-Ghamdi stressed that the system guarantees the owners of personal data the right to view their data and know the purpose of its collection and processing, and they have the right to access it or obtain a copy of it.
“The data owner can request restricting the processing of his personal data for a limited period of time. The collection of the minimum amount of data required will only be permitted.”
