Bahrain: Introduction of the New Data Protection Law

LAW 30/2018

The Kingdom of Bahrain (“Bahrain”) recently issued Law No. 30 on the Protection of Personal Data (“Law No. 30/2018”) which is due to come into effect one month after it's publication in the official gazette. The Kingdom’s law on the matter states that protection of personal privacy is among one of the primary constitutional rights of a person. While Bahrain does have laws on cyber-crime, there has previously been no formal legislation on data privacy and protection. In addition to the legislation, the Bahraini Parliament also introduced an Authority that will be responsible for validating, storing and protecting all personal data related to Bahrainis or expats from any ministry, government body or company while changes can only be made through its Director, if required.

Source: Zawya 

KEY PROVISIONS

Under the new law, entities are required to appoint a representative to handle data processed in the course of dealing with consumers/clients using means available in Bahrain and accordingly notify the relevant local authorities of these procedures using evidences as required.

Source: StartUp Bahrain 

The act accordingly criminalizes acts that may entail administrative penalties at most elsewhere, such as but not limited to processing sensitive data without compliance to requirements for the same or providing false or misleading information to the respective relevant Authority.

HOW CAN TLG HELP

TLG’s Corporate & Commercial Division would be pleased to provide you with assistance and support in assessing the applicability and/or impact of this legislation and ensure optimum compliance. 

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