ECOMMERCE AND PRIVACY LAWS IN THE UAE

1
E-COMMERCE AND PRIVACY LAWSIN THE UAE

• Rindala Beydoun
• Senior Legal Counsel
• Al Tamimi Company
  
  

2
THE MIDDLE EAST

• Vast majority of ME countries do not have any
  specific privacy or e-commerce laws

3
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

• No specific privacy or e-commerce laws
• No provisions in UAE Civil Code pertaining to
  privacy. There is no right for a private person
  to sue and demand compensation
• Right to privacy protected under
• - Constitution
• - Penal Code

4
UAE CONSTITUTION

• Article 31
• - Freedom of communication by post, telegraph
  or other means of communication and the secrecy
  thereof shall be guaranteed in accordance with
  law.
• 
  
• Al Tamimi Company

5
UAE PENAL CODE

• Article 378
• - Shall be punishable by confinement for
  a period not exceeding one year and by a fine
  not exceeding ten thousand Dirhams in both cases
  or by one of these two penalties any individual
  who, through any means of publicity,
  publishes news, pictures or comments
  pertaining to the secrets of the people's private
  or familial lives even if such publications are
  real and true.
• Article 379
• - Shall be punishable by confinement for
  a minimum period of one year and by a fine of at
  least twenty thousand Dirhams or by one of these
  two penalties any individual who by reason of
  his profession, craft, situation or art is
  entrusted with a secret and who discloses it in
  cases other than those permitted by the law, who
  uses it for his own advantage or another
  persons advantage, all this unless the
  individual to whom the secret pertains has
  consented that it be disclosed or used.

6
UAE PENAL CODE (contd)

• Article 380
• - Shall be punishable by a fine of at
  least three thousand Dirhams any individual who
  opens a letter or telegram without the consent of
  the addressee, or he who eavesdrops a telephone
  conversation. Said offender shall be punished
  with confinement for a minimum period of three
  months or with a fine of at least five thousand
  Dirhams if he discloses the letter telegram or
  telephone conversation to any person other than
  the addressee without his consent, whenever such
  disclosure is susceptible of causing prejudice to
  third parties.

7
IMPACT OF THE LEGAL VOID

• Under EU Data Protection Directive, no business
  in European Economic Area can transfer data to ME
  Business without breaching the Principles of
  the EU Data Protection Directive, unless there
  exists a trans-border data flow agreement
• ISPs in ME will be hampered in dealing with EU
  communications because of the EU Data Protection
  Directive
• Business outside the ME maybe be more reluctant
  to do business in UAE which could damage the
  expansion of Dubai Internet City
• Individuals in UAE are being denied the right
  to privacy

8
TEMPORARY LEGAL SOLUTIONS

• Privacy policies for use on corporate
  Internet websites. Five elements
• - Notice
• - Choice
• - Security
• - Data Integrity
• - Access

9
TEMPORARY LEGAL SOLUTIONS (contd)

• Privacy policies for use by corporate human
  resources departments. Principles
• -Company must keep secure all personal data
  including names, addresses and other details of
  employees, customers, clients, prospects,
  suppliers and advisers.
• - Employees not to disclose personal data
  unless purpose of disclosure is legitimate and
  person to whom data is disclosed is legitimate
  recipient
• - Clear and detailed standards on use,
  storage and permitted access to email messages
• Contracts to safeguard privacy of data disclosed
  to third parties
• - Contractual undertakings to safeguard
  privacy may be added to any contract

10
TEMPORARY LEGAL SOLUTIONS (contd)

• Informed Consents
• - informing users of how their personal
  information might be used and
  obtaining explicit consent to
  such use in advance

11
CONCLUSION

• Self-regulating legal solutions and
  technical solutions are certainly steps in the
  right directions
• However, specific privacy laws are still
  needed in order to safeguard the privacy rights
  of individuals