Personal data · Legal glossary
Data protection officerIn Arabic: مسؤول حماية البيانات
Definition
A data protection officer is a person appointed by the controller, or by the processor, to follow the organisation’s compliance with personal-data rules.
How it varies across the GCC
In the UAE, article 1 of Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 defines the role, and article 11 sets out its tasks. A duty under the Saudi Personal Data Protection Law to appoint a data protection officer was not verified, so this page does not attribute such a duty to that law.
The rules that apply to a specific matter depend on the state, any free zone involved and the current text of the law, so check the official source before relying on them.
Compare the GCC laws side by side in our data protection guideSources
Official texts for the points on this page. General information, not legal advice. An article number is cited only where it was verified.
- UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021, art. 1, 11https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/ar/legislations/1972