Personal Data Protection and Safeguarding Draft Act June 2019 The Personal Data and Safeguarding Draft Act calls on the use of the Fifth and Sixth Degree punishments from the Penal Code. It is essential to understand these punishments and their use under “necessary and proportionality” tests. The floggings under Sixth Degree punishments contravene both the ICCPR and the Convention Against Torture which both prohibit “torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment". Additionally, the Draft Act replicates the Islamic Penal Code's treatment of corporations (or legal persons) alongside with individuals (or natural persons), as seen in the punishments allocated to both entities under the fifth- and sixth-degree punishments applied to this Draft Law. In our section on the unclear application of the draft act, we note the problems when giving privacy rights to companies, a precedent set within this Islamic Penal Code. Fifth Degree: ● Imprisonment from two to five years ● Fine from 80 million (80,000,000) Rials to 180 million (180,000,000) Rials ● Deprivation from social rights for five to 15 years ● Permanent ban from one or more professional or social activity (activities) for legal persons ● Permanent ban from public invitation to increase the capital for legal persons Sixth Degree: ● Imprisonment from six months to two years ● Fine from 20 million (20,000,000) Rials to 80 million (80,000,000) Rials ● Flogging from 31 to 74 lashes and up to 99 lashes in indecent crimes ● Deprivation from social rights from six months to five years ● Publication of the final judgment in the media ● Ban from one or more professional or social activity (activities) for legal persons for up to five years ● Ban from public invitation to increase the capital for legal persons for up to five years ● Ban from drawing some commercial bills by legal persons for up to five years The Computer Crimes Law49 (CCL), adopted in 2010, continues to pose serious concern from the perspective of the right to freedom of expression and privacy. In particular: 49 ● Article 14 of the CCL criminalises “producing, sending, publishing, distributing, saving or financially engaging in obscene content”. ● Article 10 seeks to facilitate state surveillance by effectively prohibiting internet users and companies from using encryption, or protecting data, in a manner that would “deny access of authorised individuals to data, computer. and telecommunication systems”. ARTICLE19’s legal analysis https://www.article19.org/data/files/medialibrary/2921/12-01-30-FINAL-iran-WEB%5B4%5D.pdf. ARTICLE 19 – Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Rd, London EC1R 3GA – www.article19.org – +44 20 7324 2500 Page 16 of 58