ADGM to Adopt New GDPR-like Data Protection Regime

On November 9, 2020, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”), introduced its new draft Data Protection Regulations 2020 (the “Draft Regulations”) which are intended to entirely replace the Data Protection Regulations 2015, as amended (the “Existing Regulations”).

The Draft Regulations are largely modelled on the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”), with the ADGM acknowledging that “GDPR is the appropriate internationally accepted best practice benchmark.” However, some ADGM-specific differences are proposed, so companies already complying with the GDPR should not assume that nothing additional needs to be done to comply with the ADGM rules too. The Draft Regulations are a new chapter in the ADGM’s long-standing commitment to globally-recognised standards of data protection.

Please click here to read the full alert memorandum.