Lebanon. Comprehensive data protection. Law

Law 81/2018Law No. 81 of 2018 on Electronic Transactions and Personal Data

In force

Partly verified

Medium confidence. Adoption date from prior knowledge; DLA content last reviewed 2022. [Link: UN ESCWA Arab legislation portal entry; unofficial, no official gazette copy found]

§1Summary

Synopsis

Combined e-commerce and data protection law requiring declarations to, or licences from, the Ministry of Economy for processing, with data subject rights enforced through the courts.

Key themes

declaration
licensing
data subject rights
sensitive data

Unique features

No independent regulator; sensitive categories need a licence; no breach notification or transfer regime.

SaaS relevance

SaaS processing data of Lebanese customers may need Ministry declarations; enforcement is court-based.

§2Obligations

Extraterritorial: No
Breach notification: None
DPO: No
Cross-border transfers: None specified
Maximum penalty: Criminal penalties via courts

§3Dates

Key dates

Adopted 10 October 2018
In force 2019

§4Text and authority

Text

Authoritative text alp.unescwa.org

Authority

Ministry of Economy and Trade (permits/licences); no DPA

§5Where it applies

Domestic law of: Lebanon

§6Sources and verification

Verification

Medium confidence.

Partly verified

Medium confidence. Adoption date from prior knowledge; DLA content last reviewed 2022. [Link: UN ESCWA Arab legislation portal entry; unofficial, no official gazette copy found]