It is very intriguing to read about the data sharing in Dubai. According to my research, which I was compelled to do after a discussion with a peer who works there; there is no Federal law on data protection that operates in the UAE like the ones valid in Europe. There is also no regulatory body on national level governing such rules. Although according to Article 31 of the UAE constitution, people have their right to privacy, but these are for the UAE nationals only. Also, it is noted that printing the private data of one’s personal or family life is considered to be an offence under the Article 378. The sectoral law on cybercrime ensures that data is processed properly and restricts any unauthorized disclosure of personal data. Clause 3 of Article 377 is interesting which doesn’t require consent from a person if the data required is in public interest or is requested by a government authority (Dowle et al., 2016).
My peer had mentioned the two projects, Cherrayil (2017) writes that due to the two-third of global organizations adopting to the EU data protection law, UAE feels the urgency to implement it. The enforcement of GDPR in May 2018 would require all the businesses throughout the world to comply with it. Cherrayil (2017) indicates that “Data breaches in the Middle East were up by 16.67 per cent to 21 in 2016 compared to 18 in 2015 and 45.2 million data records were compromised compared to 38.5 million a year ago”.
Do the readers think it is ethical to have different laws for the UAE nationals? What law protects the rights to privacy of immigrants there? Does this discrimination leads to any tension in the area or people are accustomed to it? NHS and BMA have shown resistance due to the ambiguity in the clause 15, as I have discussed in one of my previous posts, do you think UAE on the other hand had no such issues due to the absence of data protection laws in the first place?
References:
Cherrayil, N.K. (2017) UAE firms need to start now to meet EU data privacy law. Available at: http://gulfnews.com/business/sectors/technology/uae-firms-need-to-start-now-to-meet-eu-data-privacy-law-1.2053045 (Accessed: 29 January 2018)
Dowle, C. et al. (2016) Data protection in United Arab Emirates: overview. Available at: https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/0-518-8836?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true&bhcp=1 (Accessed: 29 January 2018)
