Navigating Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL ): Key Compliance Requirements for Businesses

What is Saudi Arabia’s PDPL Compliance?

Globally, every nation is taking greater efforts in protecting the personal data of its citizens that a business operates with. Similarly, Saudi Arabia has taken an initiative in safeguarding personal information with the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL). This law was enforced by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). 

Saudi Arabia’s PDPL came into complete effect on September 14, 2024. The regulation establishes a comprehensive framework for the collection, storage, usage, and transfer of personal data of individuals.

This compliance is declared not just for businesses and entities located and operating in Saudi Arabia. It applies to international businesses that handle and use personal data of individuals residing in the Kingdom.

The PDPL applies not only to businesses and entities operating within Saudi Arabia but also to international companies that process the personal data of individuals residing in the Kingdom. 

Why Should Every Company in KSA Adhere to the PDPL?

Although Saudi Arabia’s PDPL is a legal obligation, it is equally a business necessity. Considering the current scenario, data breaches and cyber threats are incessantly increasing. So, for all businesses, protecting personal information is directly tied to consumer trust and the reputation of an organization.

Building Trust with Customers

Almost every business operating online processes customers’ personal data digitally. When that valuable data is handled for a rightful purpose securely and transparently, your customers likely become long-term loyal consumers. The PDPL mainly relies on principles of lawfulness, transparency, and confidentiality, ensuring that companies put user trust at the center of their operations.

Avoiding Severe Penalties

Failing to comply with the PDPL can attract organizational penalties up to 5 million SAR, and the fines might double with every repetition. Other charges include imprisonment for up to two years, confiscation of illicit gains, and even publication of judgments at the offender’s expense. 

Strengthening Cybersecurity Posture

Digitally, the entire globe is advancing, and Saudi Arabia has especially become a prime target for advanced persistent threats (APTs) and ransomware attacks. So, when your business is strictly aligned with PDPL requirements, you stay compliant with the regulatory demands. Moreover, you are building a secure landscape for your customers. 

Also Read : Implementing Privacy by Design: Best Practices for Compliance with Saudi Arabia’s PDPL

Steps to Prepare for Saudi Arabia’s PDPL  Compliance

When your business is planning on integrating PDPL, you are aiming for immediate compliance actions and long-term strategic planning. You must verify if your company follows privacy principles in its daily operations while also standardizing processes for future scalability.

Initial Compliance Measures

1. Data Security: Controllers must follow National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) controls or practice globally accepted rules. You can take active steps in implementing encryption, monitoring, and data loss prevention measures.
   
2. Breach Notification: When there is a personal data breach is identified, it must be reported to SDAIA within 72 hours.
   
3. Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs): It is mandatory to perform impact assessments while processing high-risk content, including sensitive data, children’s data, or automated decision-making.
   
4. Health and Credit Data: While processing sensitive details and health-based crucial information, your business must obtain explicit consent from the data owners. Also, such data’s access must be restricted to essential staff only.
   
5. Direct Marketing: Consent is the only legal basis for marketing communications, and you must observe the practice of providing clear opt-out options.
   
6. Official ID Documents: It is prohibited to photograph official IDs unless necessary under the law or requested by a government authority.
   
7. Data Protection Officer: When your business largely depends on consumer data and it is mostly sensitive data, then you must appoint a DPO to monitor the regular activities. Assign a proficient person so that he can follow the data protection activities.
   
8. Document Activities: You must maintain a draft of activities that the business has processed and acquired. There should be details, including data categories, retention timelines, and purposes of use, ready to be submitted to SDAIA when requested.
   
9. Cross-Border Data Transfers: When transferring personal data outside Saudi Arabia, organizations must ensure that the destination country offers an adequate level of protection or that appropriate safeguards. Your business must clearly discuss and know the terms, like contractual clauses or binding agreements, to secure the outgoing data.
   

Long-Term Strategic Planning

For long-standing compliance, companies must standardize and automate several privacy-based processes. 

Your business activities must include data anonymization, managing data subject requests, and proactive audits. Besides this, there must also be privacy built into your systems. And, when you automate repetitive compliance tasks, organizations can efficiently adapt to evolving laws while minimizing the possibility of human error.

Know the Core Principles of Saudi Arabia’s PDPL  Compliance

Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency

The data your business uses must be processed only for legitimate and clearly communicated purposes. You must provide transparent policies clearly stating how data is collected, stored, and used.

Purpose and Storage Limitation

There must be specific lawful reasons for why you collect the data, and your business must also define the data retention duration. Under the PDPL rule, you are restricted from retaining data indefinitely.

Also Read : Recent Amendments to Saudi Arabia’s PDPL: What Businesses Need to Know

Data Minimization and Confidentiality

Organizations must collect only the minimum data needed to achieve a purpose. The collected data is your responsibility, and you must protect it through strong safeguards. Confidentiality must be maintained across all systems and processes.

Obtain Consent

A defining feature of the PDPL is that it emphasizes consent mainly. Explicit consent should be requested from the customer for sensitive data processing, marketing, and cross-border transfers. The digital medium or the controllers must also provide clear opt-out mechanisms for deleting the data at their discretion.

For some business owners, Saudi Arabia’s PDPL can be a complex regulation to comply with when they are dealing with huge amounts of crucial data. They specifically find it troublesome when the law comes with detailed requirements. 

Many organizations often struggle to adapt these rules when they already have to manage day-to-day operations. This makes it challenging to balance everything from compliance, security, and business growth.

At Wattlecorp, we have experts proficient in global data privacy regulations with a deep understanding of Saudi Arabia’s regulatory environment. Our in-house data privacy experts help you abide by PDPL by running compliance assessments, setting up consent management systems, preparing for audits, or implementing best practices in data security. 

Our services go beyond basic compliance we help you align PDPL with cross-border data privacy standards so your business can operate seamlessly across jurisdictions.

Saudi Arabia PDPL Compliance FAQs