Israel's Privacy Authority Demands Police Probe Data Leaks on Found Sisters

Israel's Privacy Protection Authority has ordered the police to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the leak of personal information and videos concerning Mali and Liel Yahalomi, who were located in Argentina in August. The leaked details reportedly include private correspondence, AI search queries, financial information, and their location data.

According to the Authority, some of the leaked information likely originated from the police. The head of the Authority, Adv. Gilad Samama, wrote to Police Commissioner Daniel Levi and the police's internal privacy supervisor, Superintendent George Kiverkian, demanding an examination of how the sensitive materials reached the media. The request follows media reports after the sisters were found on August 14, 2026.

The Authority stated that the published materials included videos of the sisters in vulnerable moments, such as when they were found on a bus and questioned by police. Personal details from the investigation, including private messages, AI searches, financial status, and financial activities, were also revealed. Information about their movements and expected arrival in Israel was also disseminated.

Samama emphasized the distinction between reporting the discovery of missing persons and exposing their private details. "The importance of publishing the fact that missing persons have been found and are safe is clear to everyone, but there is a real difficulty in publishing videos of them in vulnerable moments and exposing their personal details, their movements, their location, and details of financial activities after they have already been located," he stated.

He added that these publications, which appear to have originated from the police investigation, "apparently caused significant harm to their privacy, without legitimate justification and apparently contrary to the police's own procedures." Samama instructed the police to thoroughly investigate how the information was leaked and to draw necessary lessons to ensure citizens' basic right to privacy is not violated in similar incidents.