Data privacy regulators in GCC countries get more muscles to flex

Authorities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are looking to tighten their data privacy laws and give more teeth to regulators after the introduction of EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Privacy regulations around the world protect the rights of the individual’s data for fair and lawful collection and use of their personal information by organisations.

Qatar launched its Privacy and Protection of Personal Data Law in 2016 while Bahrain implemented its data privacy law on August 1 this year. The UAE is expected to implement the law this year and Saudi Arabia by next year. The only countries left are Oman and Kuwait.

Phil Mennie, director for digital trust at consultancy firm PwC, said that the demand for privacy expertise exploded after the introduction of GDPR.

 “We are seeing a lot of changes across the GCC region and a lot of privacy laws are coming in,” he said.

“Large organisations are impacted by the GDPR but we observed, unlike in Europe where privacy has been a topic for a very long time, in the Middle E