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Prawo Nowych Technologii

nr 2/2022

Privacy Protection Laws in Israel – Modernisation Trends

Noa Geva
The Author is an Advocate, CIPP/E, who is a specialist in data protection. She has extensive experience in advising on the practical implications of privacy and cybersecurity laws and regulations to a variety of clients, ranging from international high-tech giants, telecom and broadcasting operators, cybersecurity, pharma and cyber companies of all sizes. The Author is a member of the Israeli National Privacy Protection Council (advisory council nominated by the Minister of Justice) which serves as a consultant to the Minister of Justice regarding privacy issues and expresses its views before the parliament committees, about legislation and government regulations.
Abstrakt

Abstract

Privacy Protection Laws in Israel – Modernisation Trends Despite Israel’s reputation for supporting modern technology start-ups, the country’s data protection laws are currently falling behind the standards set by the EU’s GDPR. This has led the Israeli government to discuss a bill introducing appropriate amendments. The proposed bill will lead to a range of innovations bringing the legislation closer in alignment to the European regulations. These will improve various aspects of data protection. From time to time, the Israeli Privacy Protection Authority (IPPA) publishes specific guidelines and opinion letters, clarifying issues related to privacy protection, especially concerning the development of technology that was not taken into consideration while drafting the current legislation. The article also looks at some of the IPPA’s guidelines. Key words: Israel, Data Protection, Privacy, GDPR, Reform, IPPA, Data transfer abroad, Data Subjects’ Rights

Israel is known as one of the most vibrant innovation and technology hubs in the world. With thousands of start-ups and a large footprint of industrial high-tech and entrepreneurship in its economy, Israel has rightfully earned its nickname as ‘The Startup Nation’. Driven by rapid technological developments and the need to align Israeli law with European standards, the Israeli government has recently proposed a new reform aimed at better aligning the Israeli Privacy Protection Act1 (the PPA) with European data protection legislation. From a data-protection perspective, 2022 will hopefully mark a tipping point for privacy laws in Israel. Given the importance of the trading relations between Israel and the European Union, the requirements set by the Israeli data protection legislation should be looked at. This article includes a review of recent trends in Israeli data protection law and the gaps that still remain between Israeli and European data protection regulation.