Dear clients and colleagues,

On July 23, 2020, the Ministry of Justice issued, for public comments, a memorandum of law to amend the Protection of Privacy Law, 1981 (the “Law”), which seeks to reduce the scope of the obligation to register databases, as well as to amend certain definitions in the Law.

It appears that the memorandum  is a first step in what appears to be a combined move by the Ministry of Justice to adapt the outdated Israeli privacy legislation to international standards and especially to existing principles under the GDPR, with the intention of preserving Israel’s status as a country ensuring protection of personal data in compliance with the European requirements.
The Ministry of Justice intends to once again promote the legislative amendment to the Protection of Privacy Law (Amendment No. 13) of 2018, which is intended to improve and update the supervision and enforcement capabilities currently conferred on the Registrar of Databases and on the employees of the Protection of Privacy Authority. An additional and complementary amendment is expected to be issued, which is expected to include substantial matters such as the expansion of the permitted legal bases for processing data, beyond consent and lawful authorization, expanding and updating the rights granted to data subjects, and establishing the liability of the database owner or a holder.

In any case, please note that this memorandum of law is still subject to legislative procedures in the Israeli parliament, and it is unknown when it will be approved, if at all, and what its final wording will be.

This Client Update details the main suggested amendments included in the memorandum.

For the full update >> click here

We will continue to keep you informed of any further developments in this matter.

The Commercial Department 
Herzog Fox & Neeman