Dubai recently became the first Arab nation to enact a substantial Data Protection Law (DIFC Law No. 1 of 2007) that aims to protect the personal information of its citizens.  In a statement announcing the new law, Dubai called the enactment “pioneering in the region” and an examination of the law reveals that the description is rightly deserved.   The new law will have immediate implications for companies operating in Dubai (and especially those companies that transfer data from one office to another), such as Halliburton, the giant energy company, which recently announced that it is moving its global headquarters from Texas to Dubai.