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Find out moreThe first Law Update of 2024 is here, and our first focus of the year spotlights Healthcare and Lifesciences, a sector that is undergoing significant growth and development across the MENA region.
Our focus provides an insight into some of the most important regulatory updates across the region, such as the UAE’s groundbreaking law on the use of human genome, Kuwait’s resolution on nuclear and radioactive materials, the new regulations for healthcare services in Qatar, Egypt’s healthcare regulatory framework, and the impact of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law on the healthcare and life sciences sector … and there is so much more!
Beyond the healthcare pages our lawyers share with you multi-sector insights where you will discover articles on Dubai’s DIFC regulatory framework for startups, Bahrain’s commercial agencies law, and we also shed light on Kuwaiti civil code and the advantages of setting up a joint stock company in Saudi Arabia.
Read the full editionRa’ed Alhout
October 2014
This means Qatar retains its rank as second place among 132 developing countries in terms of online connectivity. We are seeing a spike in legitimate digital content services and solutions, not only from the incumbent companies, but also from innovative start-ups, both working through the internet. However with this increase in internet use comes increased cybercrime.
On 16 September 2014 the Qatari government promulgated a cybercrime prevention law (No.14 of 2014) in an effort to increase the tools for combating online and cyber crimes. The new law imposes many sanctions and several penalties for offences committed through the Internet, IT networks, computers and other related crimes. The legislation is aimed at safeguarding the country’s technological infrastructure and strengthening cyber security within Qatar. The law took immediate effect but it will be posted in the Official Gazette to comply with formalities.
During the drafting of the legislation there was considerable criticism surrounded it as many viewed some parts of the legislation as threatening freedom of speech and access to media.
The law contains the following provisions, amongst others:
As reported in a study conducted by the 2014 Global Economic Crime Survey by Price Waterhouse Cooper, cybercrimes are the second most common form of economic crime reported in the Middle East. As such businesses operating in the region are at high risk. Despite the concerns raised about the new Cybercrimes law when it was in the drafting stages, it is undeniable that Qatar along with the UAE has taken the lead in addressing the issues related to cybercrime and has implemented penalties and jail terms for those who contravene to the law.
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