Egypt to enforce mandatory data protection compliance by November

Egypt’s data protection framework is entering a decisive phase, with full compliance set to become mandatory by November, marking a significant shift in how businesses handle personal information.
Speaking at a panel hosted by the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) in Cairo on Wednesday, Ziad Bahaa El Din, managing partner of Bahaa El Din Law Office and a former deputy prime minister, said the law issued in 2020 had moved into its implementation phase following the release of executive regulations in November last year.
He said the gap between the law’s issuance and the regulations had allowed companies a preparation period of about a year, but noted that compliance would become mandatory for all entities by November.
Bahaa El Din added that Egypt was following global trends in data governance, highlighting alignment with frameworks such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has become a benchmark for privacy standards worldwide.
He said exposure to such standards had increasingly become part of everyday business for Egyptians through international transactions, travel, and engagement with global markets.
According to Bahaa El Din, the law goes beyond a traditional regulatory framework and is expected to drive a broader cultural shift in how data is handled and how privacy is respected.
He added that the legislation should influence how organisations think about and manage information on a daily basis, rather than being treated as a one-time compliance exercise.
The remarks came during a panel discussion bringing together experts from different sectors to examine the implications of the law, as businesses across Egypt step up preparations ahead of the November deadline.
Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English