Israel's Privacy Authority Warns Parties Against Voter Data Collection
Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba
Israel's Privacy Protection Authority has warned political parties against collecting voter data on election day, stating it is a criminal offense. The Authority will enforce the ban on transferring any information about voter turnout or their vote, regardless of the method. Violators face significant fines and potential imprisonment. This directive follows a Supreme Court ruling that prohibited parties from digitally reporting voter numbers in real-time.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israel's Privacy Authority declared collecting voter data on election day a criminal offense.
- Parties are prohibited from receiving any voter turnout or voting information, by any means.
- Violators face significant financial penalties and up to five years in prison.
- The Authority will enforce the ban using administrative and criminal powers.
- This follows a Supreme Court ruling against digital reporting of voter numbers by parties.
Israel's Privacy Protection Authority issued a stern warning on Monday, reiterating the prohibition for party representatives at polling stations to transfer any information about voter turnout or their actual vote to political parties, regardless of the method used. This clarification comes just before elections and goes beyond the Supreme Court's previous ruling, which focused on prohibiting such data transfer via election apps.
The Authority emphasized that the obligation to protect voter privacy extends to all involved parties, including parties themselves, their representatives, app operators, suppliers, activists, and supporters. It also mandates reporting any serious information security incidents involving databases derived from the voter registry or other medium to high-security classified databases.
Gilad Samama, the Authority's head, stated that the body will enforce these prohibitions using its administrative and criminal powers, which may include server inspections and issuing orders. He warned that violations could lead to significant financial penalties and civil liability, with intentional privacy breaches constituting a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison.
The Authority announced it will operate a dedicated response center for privacy concerns on election day and encouraged the public to report any suspected violations. Authority representatives will also be present at the Knesset's election situation room to handle any incidents.
Last week, the Supreme Court, in a majority decision, overturned a ruling by the acting director-general of the Central Elections Committee, which had permitted party representatives to report real-time voter numbers digitally. The court, citing time constraints, did not provide detailed reasoning but Justice Khalid Kabub cautioned against the potential for a massive influx of reports. The decision followed a clarification letter from the acting director-general to the Likud attorney, suggesting that parties could transfer numerical data on voting rates, but the court ruled even this was forbidden.
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