Tag Archives: Omer Tene

Announcing the Launch of a New Journal on International Data Protection and Privacy Law

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Oxford University Press recently published the debut issue of the new quarterly journal International Data Privacy Law (“IDPL”), the first and only journal on data protection and privacy law which both focuses on international issues and subjects articles to double-blind peer review.  Hunton & Williams Brussels-based partner Christopher Kuner is the journal’s editor-in-chief, and Professor Fred Cate, Senior Policy Advisor of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams, also serves as an editor.  According to Mr. Kuner, “IDPL has three main missions, namely to be global, to span the gulf between scholarship and practice and to help solidify the position of data protection and privacy law as a central area of importance for the individual, the economy and the development of new technologies.”

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Israeli National Labor Court Severely Restricts Employee Monitoring

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Reporting from Israel, legal consultant Dr. Omer Tene writes:

In a sweeping, 91-page decision issued last week, the Israeli National Labor Court severely restricted employers’ ability to monitor employee emails.  In its opinion, the Court made strong statements concerning the suspect nature of employee consent and mandated the implementation of principles of legitimacy, transparency, proportionality, purpose limitation, access, accuracy, confidentiality and security.  The Court stated that, given the constitutional status of the right to privacy, exemptions to the Privacy Protection Act, 1981, must be interpreted narrowly.

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ILITA Issues Restrictions on Financial Institutions

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Reporting from Israel, legal consultant Dr. Omer Tene writes:

The Israeli Law, Information and Technology Authority (“ILITA”) has issued a new instruction (the “Instruction”) restricting financial institutions from using information concerning writs of execution issued against clients’ property.  Pursuant to the Instruction, if a bank or insurance company finds out that a client’s account has become subject to a writ of execution, such information may not be used to deny the client credit or to adjust the rate of his or her insurance premiums.  Information regarding writs of execution may be used only to carry out the writ.  ILITA’s Instruction is based on the purpose limitation provisions in the Israeli Privacy Protection Act, 1981, as well as a specific section in the Execution of Judgments Act, 1967.

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European Commission Finds Israeli Data Protection Law Provides Adequate Protection

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Reporting from Israel, legal consultant Dr. Omer Tene writes:

On January 31, 2011, the European Commission formally approved Israel’s status as a country providing “adequate protection” for personal data under the European Data Protection Directive.  The decision is restricted to automated international data transfers from the EU, as well as to non-automated data transfers that are subject to further automated processing in Israel.  It will allow unrestricted transfers of personal data from the EU to Israel, for example between corporate affiliates or from European companies to data centers in Israel.

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Israeli Supervisor of Banks Issues Letter on Social Networking

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Reporting from Israel, legal consultant Dr. Omer Tene writes:

On July 28, 2010, the Israeli Supervisor of Banks, Rony Hizkiyahu, issued a letter to the CEOs of all local banks expressing concern over the banks’ and their employees’ use of online social networks, including both proprietary Web 2.0 tools and networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and YouTube, all of which are explicitly referred to in the letter.  The Supervisor of Banks, Israel’s banking regulator, requires banks to take steps to ensure data protection and information security, including having outside experts perform risk assessments, creating and enforcing policies for use of social networking tools as well as guidelines and procedures for implementation and audit, and devising a data security strategy to address increased risks to employee and customer data.  These instructions are in addition to the Supervisor of Banks Proper Conduct of Banking Business Regulation No. 357, Information Technology Management, as well as applicable data protection law and regulations.

View the Supervisor of Banks’ letter (in Hebrew).

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Israel’s Privacy Regulator Imposes a $70,000 Fine for Illegal Trading of Personal Data

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Reporting from Israel, legal consultant Dr. Omer Tene writes:

The Israeli Law, Information and Technology Authority (“ILITA”), Israel’s privacy regulator, continues to up the ante for data controllers in Israel.  This week ILITA imposed a $70,000 (NIS 258,000) fine against a company illicitly trading personal data. 

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Article 29 Working Party’s Recommendation on Israel’s Data Protection Law

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Earlier this year, the EU’s Article 29 Working Party published an opinion finding that Israeli data protection law largely provides an “adequate level of data protection” under EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC.  The recommendation breaks new ground.  Law professor Omer Tene, who acted as an advisor to the Israeli government during the process, discussed Israel’s approval during this recorded segment from the Centre for Information Policy Leadership’s “First Friday” call on March 5, 2010.

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