Privacy laws: Abu Dhabi Global Market adds addendum to EU clauses

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is the first in the region to issue and adopt an addendum to the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses  (SCCs) for personal data transfers.

The move is aimed at supporting businesses that operate within ADGM and have data transfers involving individuals’ information.

This is critical to global data protection and privacy laws, including the ADGM Data Protection Regulations, that apply restrictions on cross-border transfers without an appropriate safeguard.

Here’s how the addendum will help companies

Companies will now be able to use the addendum as a ‘transfer mechanism’ to comply with the ADGM Data Protection Regulations where the organisation has already implemented the EU SCCs.

Using the addendum, businesses can minimise duplication and remove additional compliance obligations, supporting SMEs and large companies that depend on present safeguards offered by the EU SCCs.

Sami Mohammed, ADGM’s commissioner of Data Protection said, “The Office of Data Protection is always looking for opportunities to support businesses whilst upholding individual rights. ADGM entities applying the EU standard clauses can now utilise the addendum as an appropriate safeguard under our Data Protection Regulations 2021. This addendum not only facilitates cross-border transfers but also reduces costs, duplication, and effort by entities.”

The Office of Data Protection has also issued supplementary guidelines to help companies implement the addendum to their existing EU SCCs.

In other news, the Registration Authority of ADGM released the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Foundations Regulations 2023. This is a key step in the evolution of digital assets regulatory frameworks across the region and at an international level.

This newly implemented legislative structure is designed to provide a comprehensive framework for DLT Foundations and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), enabling them to operate and issue tokens recognising the unique needs of the blockchain industry.