In brief The Personal Data Protection Law (“PDPL”) of Saudi Arabia (“KSA”) was recently amended pursuant to Royal Decree No. M/148, dated 05/09/1444H (corresponding to 27 March 2023G) (“Amended PDPL”). These amendments were preceded by a public consultation launched by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (“SDAIA”) in late 2022. The Amended PDPL expands the scope under which Controllers could collect personal data from third parties and process it for purposes other than that for…
On 19 January 2023, the new Companies Law entered into force following the conclusion of the 180-day publication period, enacted by Cabinet Resolution No. 678 dated 29/11/1443H (corresponding to 28/06/2022) and ratified by Royal Decree No. M/132 dated 01/12/1443H (corresponding to 30/06/2022) (“New Companies Law”). The New Companies Law represents the first wholesale revision of the law since 2016 and implements a broad range of changes intended to reflect international practices and foster the growth…
The Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia adopted a resolution dated 03/06/1444H (corresponding to 27 December 2022G) clarifying the consequences in terms of eligibility to compete for government contracts for companies that fail to locate their Regional Headquarters (“RHQ”) in Saudi Arabia. This clarification has been anticipated for some time, since the Kingdom first announced at the end of 2020 that multinationals wishing to continue contracting with the government would need to locate their RHQs…
In brief On 20 November 2022, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) launched a public consultation on proposed amendements to the Personal Data Protection Law, promulgated by Royal Decree No. M/19, dated 09/02/1443H (“PDPL”), which was orginally published on promulgated on 24 September 2021. You can acces our previous alert on the publication of the PDPL here. The public consultation will remain open up until 20 December 2022 and all organisations are invited…
The General Authority for Competition (the “Authority”) recently published its latest annual report regarding its activity in 2021. This report shows that since the introduction of the current Competition Law1 (the “Law”) in Saudi Arabia in September 2019, the Authority has strengthened its resources and taken a number of initiatives to raise awareness about the Law and that it has significantly increased its enforcement against violators. This alert offers an overview of the key initiatives and…