Doha | Al Sharq
Lawyer Salah Al Jalahma said that institutions and companies must take preventive measures to protect their customers and the parties they deal with from fraud and from the misuse of personal and financial data, such as the theft of bank accounts and spying on customers and their personal and professional lives, with the aim of harming them, interfering with their transactions, and thereby causing them damage.
He explained that a breach of data privacy means exposing individuals to fraud, deception, and theft of private data, and the resulting theft of important information such as national ID cards, bank accounts, and credit cards, as well as blackmail through the exploitation of personal photos and information, which the law considers a clear violation of personal privacy.
Law No. 13 of 2016 on Personal Data Privacy Protection sets strict penalties against companies and institutions that fail to take preventive measures to secure their customers and the parties they deal with. In Article 16, the law defines personal data of a special nature as data relating to the family, children, health, physical or psychological condition, and marital relationship, the disclosure of which would harm the individual and cause them serious damage.
As for Article 17, the law gave it particular importance because it sets out the obligations of any operator or owner of a website directed at children. These include posting a notice on the site about what children’s data is collected and how it is used, and obtaining explicit consent from the child’s guardian before processing the child’s personal data. A child’s participation in a game, prize, or any other activity must also not be conditional on providing more personal data than is necessary for participation.
The law also stresses penalties of imprisonment and fines for violations. The Ministry of Interior, for its part, works to raise awareness among internet users through its digital platforms about the importance of protecting personal and financial information and avoiding unreliable links or messages.
Legal Procedures to Protect the Privacy of Personal and Financial Data for Individuals and Institutions
Personal data privacy in technological systems is a field that combines technology with the principles of respecting individual privacy, within a regulatory legal framework that governs how the individual or entity collecting and using data must operate. The concerned authorities also follow guiding principles aimed at raising awareness among data owners and individuals of the need to understand their obligations under the Personal Data Privacy Protection Law, so that they are aware of their personal and financial rights.
Source: Al Sharq newspaper, Local News section, Issue 13798, July 5, 2026
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