The Lower House on Monday passed the draft law on the protection of digital personal data for the year 2022. After a lengthy debate by lawmakers during a session chaired by Speaker Ahmad Safadi and attended by Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh and cabinet ministers, the chamber endorsed the bill as passed by the parliamentary Economy and Investment Committee. “In order to achieve the constitutional rights and freedoms stipulated in the Jordanian constitution, and for the Kingdom to be among the countries that regulate the digital environment and protect personal data, and in light of the ease of collecting, storing and processing it, and to prevent infringement on the right of citizens and residents to protect their personal data and their privacy as stipulated by the Constitution and relevant laws,” according to the mandating reasons for the draft. It also came to find a legal framework that balances the mechanisms for the rights of individuals to protect their personal data and allow data and information to be processed and stored in light of cyberspace and the spread of big data concepts and artificial intelligence, and to establish regulatory frameworks for keeping personal data and processing it within clear restrictions and obligations, which enhances confidence necessary to engage in the digital economy, help to encourage e-commerce and e-services in the Kingdom and build an enabling structure to secure the safety of cyberspace and support its stability, the draft stated. The reasons also included defining the commitments and obligations of the person in charge of personal data, the processor, and the recipient of data, and the penalties and sanctions imposed on violators of the provisions of the law and the regulations and instructions issued pursuant to it, and to establish a Personal Data Protection Council and define its tasks and powers, and the tasks of the regulatory unit concerned with protecting personal data, and defining its tasks and powers, and the tasks of the regulatory data protection unit at the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship. The provisions of the draft law apply to data even if it was collected or processed prior to its entry into force, but do not apply to normal persons who process their data for personal purposes, and stipulate the processing of data within the conditions set by the draft law. The draft obligated the official to take the necessary measures to protect the data in his trust and take security, technical and organizational measures that guarantee the protection of data from any breach of its security and safety, or any disclosure, change, addition, damage or unauthorized action in accordance with instructions issued by the Data Protection Council formed pursuant to the provisions of this law. In addition, it obligated the administrator, before starting the processing, to inform the concerned person in writing or electronically of the data that will be processed, the purpose for the processing, the time period during which the processing will take place, and the processor who will participate with the administrator in implementing the processing and data security, safety and protection controls. The draft personal data protection law also stipulates that it will come into force six months after the date of its publication in the Official Gazette. After passing the bill, lawmakers began debating the draft law amending the real estate draft law for the year 2023.
Source: Jordan News Agency