HH The Emir issues law on protecting personal data

In the wide-open world of Internet, protection of personal data is quite a serious matter.

Qatar is so serious about the protection of personal data that HH The Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has passed a new law for the same.

The new legislation, Law No 13 of 2016, will come into effect starting from its date of publication in the official gazette, Qatar News Agency reported.

The law includes provisions related to the rights of individuals to protect the privacy of their personal data. Earlier in June, the Cabinet had issued the draft law on protecting personal data following a review of the Advisory Council’s recommendations on the matter.

Authorities are considering adopting a new data privacy law that would impose a fine of up to QR5m on organisations that failed to prevent leaks, Gulf Times said.

The law would make it illegal for companies to use an individual’s data without his/her consent and includes provisions to prevent unsolicited spam marketing by SMS or email.

Organisations and companies should ensure that they properly protect personal information from being leaked or hacked. It also includes articles that require consent from individuals before their personal information can be used by an organisation.