MENA AI OBSERVATORY

English العربية

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Lebanon

The Telecommunications Law 431/2002 mandates inspectors and controllers in the sector to maintain confidentiality of information.¹
The Consumer Protection Law (Law No. 659 of 4 February 2005) was passed, with articles 58 and 107 requiring the keeping of all information related to a consumer confidential, and not disclosing such information without the latter's consent. This law is meant to protect financial information.²
In 2019, The Lebanese Ministry of State for Investment and Technology Affairs (MoSITA) indicated plans to put forward an AI strategy.³
The Lebanese Ministry of Industry (MoI) crafted its own AI strategy (2020-2050) in 2019.⁴
Concurrently, in 2019, the Minister of State for Administrative Reform partnered with UNESCWA to launch a workshop on Open Government and Emerging Technologies in the Arab Region.⁵ The purpose of the workshop was to aid participants in developing and implementing open government initiatives in the Arab region, especially related to open data and participation.
In 2020, Lebanon’s Central Inspection Agency launched IMPACT, an e-governance and open data platform to support evidence-based policy.⁶
In 2021, the Lebanese Ministry of Information, in collaboration with UNESCO and the UNDP, convened a meeting to discuss awareness of the right of access to information law.⁷
In 2022, Lebanon launched its 2020 - 2023 Digital Transformation Strategy with a focus on open governance.⁸ This strategy outlines plans for the creation of another open data portal, still under construction, placing emphasis on the prioritization of open-source and locally-produced technologies.⁹
The Lebanese constitution does not include explicit provisions on the right to privacy.¹⁰
In 2018, Lebanon enacted Law No. 81/2018 on Electronic Transaction and Personal Data.¹¹ Despite the law being issued, there are still no implementation decrees issued for its enactment.
In 2019, Lebanon launched a cybersecurity strategy, supported by the European Union.¹²
The Right of Access to Information Law (Law 28/2017) was passed in 2017 and later amended in 2021 (Law 233/2021) after successful lobbying.¹³ Notably, Article 1 of the law was amended to stipulate that information requesters do not have to disclose information on their capacity and interest, state reasons for the request, or provide plans on how information will be used. Article 2 was also amended to specify three governmental entities that fall under the legislation.¹⁴
The Lebanese Penal Code criminalizes the unauthorized leakage of personal information in Articles 579, 580, and 581.¹⁵

¹ Public-Private Partnership Legal Resource Center. Lebanon Telecommunications Law. The World Bank. Retrieved https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/library/lebanon-telecommunications-law-law-431-2002

² Lebanon: Data Protection in the financial sector. DataGuidance. (2022, November 9). https://www.dataguidance.com/opinion/lebanon-data-protection-financial-sector

³ UNESCWA (2020). Advisory Report on: Development of an Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Lebanon. Retrieved from https://www.unescwa.org/sites/default/files/event/materials/advisory-report-development-artificial-intelligence-strategy-lebanon-en.pdf

⁴ Lebanon Artificial Intelligence Strategy Lebanon’s economy for Sustainable Development (2025) . (n.d.). http://www.industry.gov.lb/getattachment/PublicationsAndStudies/Lebanon-vision-en.pdf?lang=en-US

⁵ Lebanese Minister May Chidiac opens ESCWA workshop on open government and emerging technologies. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. (2019, June 28). https://www.unescwa.org/news/lebanese-minister-may-chidiac-opens-escwa-workshop-open-government-and-emerging-technologies

⁶ Tayara, G.E. (2022). Decrypting the State: Investing in Lebanon’s first digitized e-governance platform would greatly benefit citizens, and accountability. Carnegie Middle East Center. Retrieved from https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/86307

⁷ UNESCO (2023). The Access to Information Law brings together UNESCO and media in Lebanon. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/access-information-law-brings-together-unesco-and-media-lebanon

⁸ Xinhua (2022). Lebanon launches 10-year digital transformation strategy. https://english.news.cn/20221018/ac8dcdc231e84fc4af0c47bc72f914b7/c.html

⁹ Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (2022). Lebanon Digital Transformation National Strategy May 2022 Update. https://omsar.gov.lb/Assets/DT_EN.pdf

¹⁰ Access Now, 2021, Exposed and Exploited: Data Protection in the Middle East and North Africa

¹¹ Law 81/2018. Electronic Transaction and Personal Data. https://smex.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/E-transaction-law-Lebanon-Official-Gazette-English.pdf

¹² Araz, Sevan (2019). Lebanon’s Cybersecurity Strategy Emerges. Middle East Institute. https://mei.edu/publications/lebanons-cybersecurity-strategy-emerges#:~:text=The%20National%20Lebanese%20Strategy%20for,against%20external%20and%20internal%20threats

¹³ Merhej, Karim (September 8, 2021). Lebanon’s Access to Information Law Has Been Amended… What’s New?. The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. https://timep.org/2021/09/08/lebanons-access-to-information-law-has-been-amended-whats-new/

¹⁴ Ibid

¹⁵ State of Privacy: Lebanon. Privacy International. (n.d.). https://privacyinternational.org/state-privacy/1081/state-privacy-lebanon

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