The Jordanian cabinet has approved a draft law on the protection of personal data of 2021.
The draft law aims to enhance the constitutional rights and freedoms stipulated in the Jordanian constitution and to consolidate the Kingdom’s position among countries that regulate the digital environment and protect personal data in light of the ease of its collection, retention and processing. The law will also prevent attacks on the right of citizens and residents to protect their personal data and privacy established under the provisions of the constitution and related laws.
It also aims to create a legal framework that strikes a balance between individuals’ rights to protect their personal data, and allowing data and information to be processed and preserved.Â
The law also establishes regulatory frameworks for preserving and processing personal data within clear restrictions and obligations, which contributes to enhancing the necessary confidence in engaging in the digital economy and contributing to promoting e-commerce and services in the Kingdom.
The draft also seeks to build an enabling environment to ensure the safety of cyberspace and support its stability, and to define obligations and duties imposed on the person responsible for personal data, its processor and recipient, and penalties and fines imposed on violators of the provisions of the law, regulations and instructions issued pursuant thereto.
Under the draft law, a Personal Data Protection Board will be formed, and its mandates and authorities, and tasks will be identified within the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship.
In the same session, chaired by Prime Minister, Bisher Khasawneh, the Council of Ministers also approved the Government Procurement System of 2021, which aims to clearly reorganize government procurement procedures and remove ambiguity from some standards in this process.
On the other hand, the cabinet decided to appoint Minister Plenipotentiary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Asal Al-Tall as the Kingdom’s ambassador to the Republic of South Korea, and to name Jordan’s ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Daifallah Al-Fayez, as a non-resident ambassador to the Republic of Estonia.
The Cabinet also agreed to terminate services of Director General of the Awqaf Funds Development Department, Mahmoud Al-Hadid, at his request, and to accept the resignation of head of the Technical and Vocational Skills Development Commission (TVSDC), Qais Al-Safasfah.