Art. 29 of the Personal Data Protection Law generally prohibits data controllers from transferring personal data outside of Saudi Arabia or disclosing personal data to an entity outside of Saudi Arabia, except where:
- the transfer or disclosure will not adversely affect the national security or the vital interests of the Kingdom;
- sufficient guarantees are provided to safeguard the data transferred or disclosed and to protect the confidentiality of the same and that they meet the minimum criteria stipulated in the Regulation;
- the Personal Data is exported is limited to the minimum amount necessary;
- consent of the Data Authority has been obtained with respect to the transfer or disclosure concerned.

Saudi Arabia prohibits all imports of goods and services from Israel. Additionally, it is reported that Saudi Arabia has extended this ban to all products and services from Lebanon since 2021.

Section 3-3-8 of the Cloud Computing Services Provisioning Regulations stipulates that cloud service providers must notify their subscribers and obtain their consent if their content is transferred outside Saudi Arabia. This iteration represents the fourth version of the legislation. The previous three versions were referred to as the Cloud Computing Regulatory Framework. Since its inception, the legislation has included similar requirements. Section 3.3.11 of both the first and second versions mandated that cloud service providers inform their customers in advance if their content would be transferred, stored, or processed outside the Kingdom, whether permanently or temporarily. In the third version, Section 3-3-10 required that cloud service providers clearly inform both the Commission and the subscriber in advance and obtain their approval if the subscriber's content would be transferred abroad.

According to Art. 5 of the Internet of Things (IoT) Regulatory Framework, all SIM cards used for the IoT devices imported to Saudi Arabia must be issued by one of the local licensed providers.

Saudi Arabia has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

The Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) establishes a comprehensive data protection regime in Saudi Arabia. The PDPL applies to any processing of personal data carried out in Saudi Arabia by companies or public entities by any means, including the processing of personal data of Saudi residents by entities located outside the Kingdom. Furthermore, the second clause of the law establishes the Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) as the competent authority to supervise the implementation of the provisions of the system and its regulations. However, a transfer of supervision to the National Data Management Office (NDMO) will be considered in the future.

Art. 7 of the Internet of Things (IoT) Regulatory Framework requires that IoT service providers must provide the technical capabilities in the IoT devices and machines to save and maintain the data to make it possible to be reviewed for a duration not less than 12 months or any other duration specified by the Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC).

According to Art. 5.2 of the General Principles for Personal Data Protection in the Telecommunication, IT, and Postal Services, service providers are mandated to assign the role and responsibilities of customers’ personal data protection to an independent function.

The Personal Data Protection Law mandates data privacy impact assessments whereby controllers must conduct an evaluation of the effects of processing associated with any product or service provided to the public.

Arts. 6, 10, and 15 of the Personal Data Protection Law delineate the circumstances under which a public entity may request access to data: namely, for purposes of public interest, security, implementing another law, or fulfilling judicial requirements. Notably, there is no stipulation requiring the presence of a court order or warrant. However, Art. 21 of the Implementing Regulations imposes additional obligations on public entities that process personal data obtained indirectly from data subjects for public interest purposes. These obligations include ensuring that the processing is necessary to achieve a clearly defined public interest, that such interest is related to a mandate specified by law, and that appropriate measures are taken to mitigate any potential harm resulting from the processing.

The E-commerce Law establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. Art. 12 of the law provides a safe harbour for intermediary liabilities by excluding them from penalties if the intermediary platforms delete any content that violates the provisions of the laws and regulations within one day from the date of notification by the government.

The E-commerce Law establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringement. Art. 12 of the law provides a safe harbour for intermediary liabilities by excluding them from penalties if the intermediary platforms delete any content that violates the provisions of the laws and regulations within one day from the date of notification by the government.

Since 2016, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has mandated that mobile service providers register the fingerprints of new SIM card subscribers. As part of this process, individuals are required to sign mobile service contracts using their legal names and present a national identification card or residence permit. The collected information is subsequently shared with a centralised database managed by the Ministry of the Interior.

It is reported that Saudi authorities frequently block news and other websites due to geopolitical considerations. Between 2017 and 2023, some Qatari, Iranian, and Turkish news sites were blocked amid ongoing political tensions between these countries and Saudi Arabia. News sites with views opposing the Saudi government, such as the website of Beirut-based broadcaster al-Manar, are also blocked. Popular social media and communication apps are not consistently blocked, although several platforms’ VoIP services have faced intermittent restrictions.
In January 2016, the websites of the London-based Al-Araby al-Jadeed and its English-language counterpart, The New Arab, were blocked and remain inaccessible. In addition, earlier reports indicate that over 500,000 websites were blocked in Saudi Arabia between 2007 and 2020.

The indicator "6.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 2 in Saudi Arabia for the year 2023. This corresponds to "The government shut down domestic access to the Internet several times this year."
It is reported that in 2023, Saudi Arabia was identified as a "repeat offender" for implementing internet shutdowns, a practice the country has consistently maintained since 2016. Saudi authorities were also among those in the MENA region who enforced internet shutdowns during the year.