UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Stuart Paterson, Janine Mallis, Tania Forichon and Elif Eren Ozenir, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
• to recall the goods from the local market and con - sumers upon discovery of a defect, and to replace, repair or pay back the value of the withdrawn goods to the consumer; and • not to discriminate between consumers in the sale of the goods or utilisation of the service. A violation of the Consumer Protection Law could result in imprisonment and/or a fine of up to AED2 million. The competent court may also order the con - fiscation or destruction of the product or object of the crime and the materials and tools used in its produc - tion. 3.9 Cybercrimes, Computer Fraud and Protection of Company Secrets The Cybercrimes Law Offences in relation to cybercrimes and computer fraud are governed by the Cybercrimes Law. They include accessing electronic sites illegally or without permission, or extending the limits of that permission, as well as obtaining, modifying or forging the contents on an electronic site. Disabling access, compromising information systems, conducting deni - al-of-service attacks and using a false or misleading address (or an address that belongs to a third party) are also prohibited. The Cybercrimes Law contains a provision that makes it a criminal offence to collect, store or process per - sonal data of UAE nationals or residents in violation of other laws (Article 6). The criminal penalties introduced by the Cybercrimes Law would seem to be applicable, in addition to any sanctions stated in PDPL 2021. The Cybercrimes Law further criminalises fraudulent activity by prohibiting the unauthorised obtaining of a movable asset, benefit, document or signature by using a fraudulent method or by using a false name or impersonating a false capacity online (Article 40). Fraudulent conduct in relation to credit or debit cards, and blackmailing or threatening another person online to perform or refrain from action, is also prohibited. Similarly, the Cybercrimes Law prohibits the facilita - tion of money laundering by criminalising the transfer,
acquisition, concealment or disguising of the source of illegal funds online (Article 30). The maximum penalty under the Cybercrimes Law is a fine of AED4 million and life imprisonment (if com - mitted by a natural person) (Articles 20–21). A legal person will also be jointly and severally liable for the fines arising from its employees’ violations if those violations were committed in the legal person’s name or for its benefit (Article 58). Other penalties include the deportation of foreigners or supervision and con - trol orders. An attempt to commit any of the above offences is also punishable. Breach of Information Company secrets Under Article 354 of the Companies Law, a penalty of imprisonment for a maximum period of six months and a maximum fine of AED500,000 will be imposed on a broad range of persons, including directors or employees, who utilise or disclose company secrets or deliberately attempt to damage a company’s busi - ness. Under Article 432 of the Penal Code, an individual who, by reason of their profession, craft, situation or art, is entrusted with a secret and who discloses it in cases other than those permitted by law, or who uses it for their own advantage or another person’s advantage, will be punished with imprisonment for a period of at least one year and/or a fine of at least AED20,000, unless the individual to whom the secret pertains has consented that it be disclosed or used. Personal data PDPL 2021 obliges companies to implement appropri - ate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data. Upon becoming aware of any personal data breach that would “prejudice the privacy, confi - dentiality and security” of a data subject’s personal data, controllers must inform the UAE Data Office of the breach and any subsequent investigation. Trade secrets In the DIFC, trade secrets are protected under DIFC Law No 4 of 2019 (the “DIFC Intellectual Property Law”). Under Article 53 (3) of the DIFC Intellectual Property Law, a person lawfully in control of a trade
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