Mauritania Law 2017-020 compliance and requirements, so your data handling holds up when someone asks.

What it is

What is Mauritania's Law 2017-020 and what is it used for?

Law No. 2017-020 on the Protection of Personal Data is Mauritania's personal data protection law. The Law applies to processing by individuals, the State, local authorities and public or private legal persons, and to controllers established in Mauritania or using processing means located there. Processing rests on consent unless a listed ground applies; most processing is declared to the Authority and may start on the receipt it issues, while genetic and health-research data, offences, interconnection of files, national identifiers, biometrics and some public-interest processing need its prior authorisation.

The Autorité de Protection des Données à caractère personnel, a public-law body the Law describes as independent and attached to the Prime Minister, supervises it. The practical test: for any personal data you hold, could you show its purpose and basis, who was told, how it is protected and where it goes?

Current law. Law n°2017-020 of 22 July 2017, published in the Official Journal under reference JO 2017-1400 and carried in the government's consolidated code volume on telecommunications and media; Decree n°2022-13 of 18 February 2022 (JO 2022-1505) sets the composition, organisation and operation of the Authority. Confirm current wording and the authority's guidance with your legal advisers.

Who it is for

Who needs to comply with Mauritania's Law 2017-020?

The Law reaches organisations of every size that handle personal data in Mauritania. Organisations usually come to Sterling for a structured programme from one of four directions:

• Any company or public body processing personal data in Mauritania. The Law covers processing by individuals, the State, local authorities and public or private legal persons, including controllers using processing means located in Mauritania.
• Banks, payment and e-money institutions. BCM instructions oblige them to protect customer personal data under the Law and to control cyber and operational risk.
• Outsourcing and BPO firms handling data for overseas clients. Transfers to a third country need a sufficient level of protection or the Authority's involvement, and processors work under written instructions.
• Hospitals, clinics and health researchers. Health data is sensitive and its processing is allowed only in listed cases, with genetic data and health research needing prior authorisation.

The aim is handling of personal information that you control and can evidence. Compliance depends on how the rules are applied every day, not on a policy document alone.

Requirements

What are the main Mauritania Law 2017-020 requirements?

Strip away the vocabulary and Mauritania's data protection law requires an organisation to handle personal data in six practical ways. The list below puts each one in business terms; the Law and the regulator's guidance give the full wording and exceptions.

• Declare processing or obtain authorisation: most processing is declared to the Authority, which issues a receipt before work begins; sensitive categories, biometrics, national identifiers and file interconnection need prior authorisation instead.
• Collect with consent and a clear purpose: data is gathered lawfully and fairly with the person's consent unless a listed ground applies, used for a stated purpose, and kept accurate and no longer than necessary.
• Treat sensitive and health data with care: data revealing origin, opinions, health or sex life is restricted to listed cases, and genetic data or health research calls for the Authority's prior approval.
• Control transfers outside Mauritania: data goes to another state only if protection is sufficient; otherwise the Authority is informed first and may authorise the transfer on adequate safeguards.
• Secure data and bind processors: controllers guard against alteration and unauthorised access, restrict and log access, keep backups, and give processors written instructions with confidentiality and security duties.
• Honour rights and marketing limits: people are informed, can access, object, correct or delete their data, direct prospecting needs prior consent, and legal decisions cannot rest solely on automated profiling.

Compliance route

How do you achieve Mauritania Law 2017-020 compliance?

There is no certificate at the end of this route. Compliance is something your organisation demonstrates, to the Data Protection Authority if a complaint or incident arises, and to customers who ask. Sterling helps you build and run the programme; interpretation of the law in contested cases remains with your legal advisers and, ultimately, the regulator and the courts.

1. 01
   Map the personal information you handle.Customers, staff, users and suppliers: what is collected, for which purpose, on which basis, where it is stored, who processes it for you and whether it leaves Mauritania.
2. 02
   Gap analysis: compare current practice with the Law.Each area of the Law reviewed against what actually happens, with actions, owners and dates agreed.
3. 03
   Put the controls and routines in place.Complete the formalities the Law asks for, rewrite notices and consent wording, put security measures and processor contracts in place, name who is responsible and agree a breach procedure.
4. 04
   Test the programme and review the results.Internal review of samples, a simulated incident or data-subject request, and a management review that closes findings with evidence.
5. 05
   Operate, demonstrate and keep it current.Answer requests, record incidents and report them as the Law requires, keep formalities current, review transfers, refresh training and follow the Data Protection Authority's guidance as it is issued.

Check the route before you sign. The Law creates no certificate of compliance, so treat any offer of a "Mauritania Law 2017-020 certificate" with suspicion. If a customer wants independent assurance, ISO/IEC 27701 or ISO/IEC 27001 is certifiable by an accredited certification body; confirm the body's accreditation scope directly with the accreditation body concerned.

Cost

How much does Mauritania Law 2017-020 compliance cost?

The cost of a Mauritania Law 2017-020 programme is driven by how much personal information you hold, how many systems and suppliers touch it, and how much already works. Your proposal shows each component, with what is included and what remains for your legal advisers.

Timeline

How long does Mauritania Law 2017-020 compliance take?

Timing depends on how scattered your personal information is, how quickly system owners respond and how much has to change. Your proposal sets out the phases for your scope, long enough to map the information, fix the gaps and show that requests and incidents are handled the way the procedures say.

If a customer or contract has set a date, tell us at the outset and we will say plainly what can be in place by then and what should follow.

Your engagement

What your Mauritania Law 2017-020 engagement includes

Your scope covers the full programme, from the information map to evidence that runs. Sterling does not certify, attest or validate compliance with the Law, and the Law creates no certificate of compliance; the Data Protection Authority supervises it, and we work alongside your legal advisers.

• Information map, gap analysis and plan

  Sources, systems, suppliers and overseas flows, with actions and owners agreed.

• Policies, notices and procedures

  Notices, consent wording, request, security and breach procedures, processor contract terms and transfer documents, drafted from Sterling's own templates with your teams.

• Effivity ISO & GRC software

  Registers, requests and incidents managed in Effivity, included with the engagement at no additional cost.

• Training for everyone

  Internal auditor training for your review team, as applicable to your standard, and preferential Sterling Academy access, including complimentary awareness training for your people as part of the engagement.

• Internal review and management review

  Sample testing, an incident exercise and findings closed with evidence.

• Formalities support

  Help preparing the formalities the Law asks for and the responsible person's role, with findings closed with evidence.

Sterling OS™ sets how we deliver. Design™ is guided support, where your team builds the programme with our consultants' direction; Drive™ is managed support, where our consultants do most of the work with your input. You choose one of the two, not both in sequence. Once the programme is operating, Sustain™ keeps reviews, training and updates on schedule, and Automate™ is Effivity, where the records live.

The Autorité de Protection des Données à caractère personnel, a public-law body the Law describes as independent and attached to the Prime Minister, supervises it.

Often combined with

Standards organisations pair with Law 2017-020 (Mauritania)

• ADGM Data Protection Regulations 2021ADGM data protection compliance for entities under the 2021 Regulations: lawful bases, DPO, impact assessments, 72-hour breach notice and transfers, all-inclusive proposal.
• APEC CBPRAPEC CBPR certification and requirements explained: Global CBPR and PRP, Accountability Agent review, annual renewal and how Sterling prepares your team.
• APPI (Japan)APPI compliance for Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information: the requirements, PPC breach reporting, cross-border rules and an all-inclusive programme.
• Bahrain PDPLBahrain PDPL compliance and requirements explained: consent, notification to the Authority, transfers abroad, 72-hour breach reporting, rights, cost and timing.
• CCPA / CPRACCPA compliance and requirements under the CPRA: notices, consumer rights, opt-outs, risk assessments, cybersecurity audits and ADMT, in an all-inclusive programme.
• Cyber and Data Protection Act (Zimbabwe)Zimbabwe's Cyber and Data Protection Act [Chapter 12:07]: POTRAZ licensing, lawful processing, security and transfers, built into a programme.