Saudi PDPL Compliance Guide
The Saudi Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL), enacted by Royal Decree M/19 and enforced by SDAIA, is Saudi Arabia's comprehensive data privacy regulation. It applies to any entity processing personal data of Saudi residents.
Overview
The PDPL regulates the collection, processing, storage, and transfer of personal data in Saudi Arabia. It grants data subjects rights similar to GDPR and requires organizations to obtain explicit consent before processing personal data.
Key Requirements
- Obtain explicit, informed consent before collecting personal data
- Provide a clear and accessible privacy policy in Arabic
- Appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) for large-scale processing
- Implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures
- Report data breaches to SDAIA within 72 hours
- Maintain records of data processing activities
- Enable data subjects to exercise their rights (access, correction, deletion)
Consent Under PDPL
PDPL requires explicit opt-in consent for processing personal data. Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. Pre-checked boxes or implied consent are not valid. Arqam360's default opt-in banner model is fully compliant with PDPL requirements.
Penalties
Violations can result in fines up to SAR 5 million, imprisonment up to 2 years, or both. Repeated violations may double the penalties. The SDAIA (Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority) is the enforcement body.
Compliance Checklist
Deploy a consent banner
Install Arqam360 with opt-in mode (default for Saudi PDPL regime).
Generate a privacy policy
Use Arqam360's policy generator with Arabic language option.
Configure DSAR handling
Set up the DSAR module to handle data subject requests within the required timeframe.
Run a cookie scan
Identify all cookies and trackers on your website.
Review consent categories
Ensure all cookie categories are properly labeled and described.
Next Steps
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