Legal Protection of Personal Data Privacy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
![handle is hein.journals/jispil20 and id is 269 raw text is: Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice
Volume 20, Issue 1: 261-279, 2024
Legal Protection of Personal Data Privacy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Wael Mohammed Nusairat*
Abstract: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the leading countries and the initiator of
enacting systems that respect and preserve the sanctity of personal data and criminalise its
violation in any illegal manner. Royal Decree No. (19) dated 2021 was issued to establish the
personal data protection system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to begin a new era in
improving the handling of personal data. With personal data and the necessary legal guarantees
to protect it and to preserve the privacy of individuals, protect their rights, and enhance
responsibility among individuals and other entities. This article examines the criminal law
protection of individual's personal data in cyberspace by analysing the legal framework applied
in Saudi Arabia. With the analysis of the nature of individuals' personal data and the forms of
abuse against it, this article pursues effective means of protection regarding service providers,
processors, and third parties. Highlighting the most prominent efforts made by the Saudi Data
and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), which is represented by the National Data
Management Office, in the protection of personal data, this article identifies shortcomings by
comparing the Saudi personal data protection policy with the European Union's General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR). The findings of this article are useful for legislators in Saudi
Arabia to review the new Personal Data Protection Law and to develop a proactive policy in
detecting and dealing with incidents and breaches of data before they occur.
Keywords: Right to Privacy; Personal Data; Protection; Violation of Privacy; Saudi
Regulation
I. INTRODUCTION
Successive developments in information and communications technology, especially with
the emergence of Internet of Things Technology, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence,
and others, have led to the emergence of new challenges at the level of personal data
protection.1 The scope of the collection, deletion, and electronic processing of data has
increased unprecedentedly, allowing private and public companies and institutions to use
individuals' personal data on a large scale, considering that electronic activities based on
collecting, analysing, inferring, and storing that data, which helps companies and institutions
benefit economically and commercially from that digital data.2
Issuing the Personal Data Protection Law in Saudi Arabia is a very important legislative step
in the field of securing citizens' personal data, especially since the existing legislation lacks
* Assistant Professor of Criminal Law, Department of General Law, College of Law, Princess Nourah Bint
Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Email: wmn ser.
1 E. Asmadi, 'Rumusan Delik Dan Pemidanaan Bagi Tindak Pidana Pencemaran Nama Baik Di Media Sosial' (in
Indonesian) ['Use the media and social media'] (2021) 6 (1) De Lega Lata: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum
<h!1dlde xlic i _ h_/articclevicw 3> accessed 22 March 2023.
2 A. Bhardwaj and V. Kumar, 'Cloud Security Assessment and Identity Management' (2011) 14th International
Conference on Computer and Information Technology (ICCIT) 387-392 <DOI:
101109 'CCiTechn20116 164 )> accessed 24 May 2023.
Volume 20, Issue 1
(261)
2024](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jispil20&div=19&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Legal Protection of Personal Data Privacy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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