The United Arab Emirates announces new federal data protection law

The legislative package is announced to be the first-ever comprehensive data privacy and protection law to be issued. The UAE Data Law was developed in consultation with major technology companies. H.E. Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, has stated that `every single data law on the planet` was considered when drafting the new legislation. The new law aims to be a `global law` that will provide international companies with a smooth mechanism for cross-border transfers, as well as have a low cost of compliance for SMEs. 

Some aspects of the UAE Data Law will include:

• the right to be forgotten, the right of access, the right of correction, and the right to be informed, all of which are already included in EU GDPR, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) data protection laws;

• consent obligations regarding marketing of data by companies seeking to monetize data;

• minimal restrictions on cross-border data flows or references to sensitive or restricted data; and

• provisions for a new national data privacy regulator.