The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) two financial free zones,
the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi
Global Market (ADGM), have data protection laws in place (largely
inspired by the European Union's General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR), however until recently there was no
comprehensive data protection law at the UAE federal level and
persons impacted by data breaches or misuse of personal data had to
rely on certain restricted provisions set out in the UAE's
Constitution, Penal Code and Cyber Crime Law.
Keeping in mind current global standards and the needs of a
modern digital society, the UAE Federal Government has now enacted
Federal Decree Law No. 45/2021 on the Protection of Personal Data
(PPD Law) and established a dedicated data protection regulatory
authority (the UAE Data Bureau). The PPD Law is largely similar to
GDPR and includes core concepts such as personal data; sensitive
personal data, controllers, consent, processors,
