The Digital Services Acts Package and what it entails

Many governments and regulators around the world are raising concerns about the growing popularity and control by few players when it comes to Digital Services and how data is handled.

In the Middle East, very few countries have enacted laws pertaining to Digital Services and data protection. Within the GCC, some members have no present laws such as Kuwait and Oman, while other member nations have formulated regulations or are in the process of finalising them.

Qatar was the first GCC member nation to issue a law in accordance with the GDPR adoption in Europe in 2016; Bahrain has also drawn international best practices and its law covers non-nationals and companies without a place of business in Bahrain (unlike GDPR). KSA and UAE have both taken steps to protect individual privacy, but there is room for more.

This paper focuses on policies around data and evaluates the Digital Services Acts recently introduced in the European Parliament and strives to analyse theses in detail highlighting the possible advantages and limitations for each stakeholder group. 

Governments in the GCC and wider Middle East region can benefit tremendously by learning the characteristics of these Acts and being the first mover in their region to enact similar regulations in their territories. 

This will enable them to prepare for a future that does not allow Digital Markets to be controlled and dominated by few big companies and to provide a safer and level playing field to smaller businesses and users.