We have exciting news regarding a lately passed law in Egypt which will be another step in reaching international standards in Egypt, adapting and in some cases surpassing the standards of the European and US Data Laws.
We at Wise Law Firm are a pioneer in this field and are here to consult you in this new change, legal impacts, new licensing and make you ready to fully comply with this newly passed law and regulation, which has far reaching implications on the license to operate in Egypt, which the general public, many businesses and international companies are not yet aware. Please contact us for detailed consultation…
The provisions of this law and the accompanying law shall apply with regards to the protection of personal data of natural persons partly or fully processed electronically by any holder, controller or processor. The provisions of this law shall apply to any person that commits any of the violations stipulated in the accompanying law, if the offender is an Egyptian national inside or outside the Arab Republic of Egypt, or a non-Egyptian residing within the Arab Republic of Egypt, or a non-Egyptian outside the Arab Republic of Egypt provided that the act is punishable in any form in the country where it occurred, and the data subject of the crime belongs to Egyptian nationals or non-Egyptians residing within the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Egyptian Data Protection Law will govern collection, processing, sharing, duration and cross border sharing of all data. The entity or person collecting these data have to have a controller in place to overview the law and its application for the data processing and retention. The data collected can not be shared cross border, meaning send to outside countries and entities without obtaining a license from the government to do so. Also Marketing efforts will be ruled and restricted by this law. Basically, without informing, receiving written consent by the Data Subject, sharing of data for marketing purposes is not allowed anymore. Disclaimers and Consent needs to be written and signed. Punishments include Monetary Fines, Loosing License or imprisonment, for parties involved including managers and owners of companies.
Personal Data: any data relating to an identified natural person, or one who is identifiable, directly or indirectly, by reference to such data and to other data such as a name, a voice, a photograph, an identification number, an online identity identifier, or any data referring to the person’s psychological, medical, economic, cultural or social identity.
Processing: any electronic or technological operation to write, collect, record, save, store, merge, display, send, receive, circulate, publish, erase, change, edit, retrieve, or analyze personal data using any electronic or technological medium partially or full.
Sensitive Data: data disclosing psychological, mental, physiological, or genetic health, biometric or financial data, religious beliefs, political opinions, or security standing and, in all cases, data relating to children is considered to be sensitive data.