Yes, web scraping is permissible in Saudi Arabia if conducted in compliance with local data protection and cybersecurity laws, but unauthorized extraction of personal or proprietary data risks penalties under the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) and Anti-Cyber Crime Law (ACCL). The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and Communications, Space, and Technology Commission (CSTC) enforce these rules, with stricter oversight anticipated by 2026 under the National Data Governance Framework. Ethical scraping—avoiding sensitive data and respecting robots.txt—remains critical to avoid litigation.
Key Regulations for Web Scraping in Saudi Arabia
- Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL, 2023): Prohibits scraping personal data without explicit consent or a lawful basis, imposing fines up to SAR 5 million for violations. Organizations must justify data collection under PDPL’s Article 4 and Article 12, which require transparency and purpose limitation.
- Anti-Cyber Crime Law (ACCL, Royal Decree M/17, 2007): Criminalizes unauthorized access to systems or data, with penalties including imprisonment (up to 1 year) and fines (up to SAR 5 million) for breaches. Scraping without permission may trigger ACCL’s Article 3 if it bypasses security measures.
- National Data Governance Framework (2026): Mandates data localization for certain sectors and real-time audits for high-risk data processing. Entities scraping public data must align with SDAIA’s upcoming Data Classification Guidelines, which may restrict cross-border transfers.