Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are all strengthening their privacy laws after the introduction of the EU’s data protection laws.
“We are seeing a lot of changes across the GCC region and a lot of privacy laws are coming in,” Phil Mennie, director for digital trust at consultancy firm PwC, told TechRadar.
For instance, Bahrain introduced its new law in August 2019. Qatar already implemented its Privacy and Protection of Personal Data Law in 2016 and the UAE is reportedly set to unveil a law later in 2019, with Saudi Arabia following suit in 2020. Oman and Kuwait are seemingly yet to make any pushes into introducing stronger privacy protection rules.
TechRadar also linked the stricter privacy regulations in these countries with the rising threat of cyberattacks. RegTech Analyst’s recently reported how the recognition of the cost of hack attacks was one of the reasons why investment into that part of the RegTech sector has been grown considerably over the past five years.
However, the stricter regulations implemented by authorities in the Gulf Corporation Council countries may have some challenges.
Mennie noted that Europe has a long tradition of privacy discussions, with many businesses understanding how the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) would affect them. He continued that similar conversations and, indeed, understanding about privacy concerns are not as common in Middle Eastern countries.
Other challenges raised by the people TechRadar spoke with included not having a governing body akin to that of the EU, meaning enforcing these laws could be a challenge.
GDPR is not just affecting countries in Europe and the Middle East. India is reportedly aligning its privacy protection laws with that of the EU’s. Japan already aligned its laws with the EU earlier in 2019.
The privacy protection laws and other regulations introduced by the EU has been a contributing factor to the rise of investment into the RegTech sector, RegTech Analyst recently reported. Indeed, the sector has raised almost $13.3bn across 900 deals since 2015.
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