Justice Ministry Opens Enforcement Proceeding Over Face Recognition at Rami Levy Machines

The Privacy Protection Authority in the Justice Ministry has opened a formal enforcement proceeding over the controversial use of facial recognition technology in bottle recycling machines. In recent days, the authority contacted the relevant parties and demanded information and documents in order to examine the legality of the move and whether it complies with the Privacy Protection Law.

The decision to open the proceeding follows a report by “Hayom,” which found that consumers who want to recycle bottles and receive the deposit refund legally are required to undergo biometric facial identification as a condition for operating the machine. The machines in question, operated by the company Asufta, are currently installed in branches of the Rami Levy Shivuk Hashikma chain, and there are plans to expand their deployment to additional retail chains.

The Privacy Protection Authority said in response that “the practice of collecting biometric information as a condition for receiving deposit refunds is known to it and is being examined.” The authority stressed that biometric information is defined by law as especially sensitive information, and its use is subject to strict restrictions, including a clear duty to inform, a lawful basis for collecting the data, and strict information security requirements. The legal authority also clarified that if the companies are found to have violated the law, it has broad enforcement powers, including the imposition of heavy financial sanctions and administrative warnings.

At present, the machines themselves carry wording telling consumers that using the machine constitutes consent to the operation of facial recognition technology. According to the company’s official notice displayed to the public, “the encoded identification is intended solely to enforce the legal limit of up to 50 beverage containers per consumer per day and will be deleted at the end of the workday.”

On the other hand, Rami Levy chain CEO Yafit Atiyas strongly defended the technological move this week and described it as “part of necessary efficiency efforts” in the recycling sector. She said facial recognition is much faster and more efficient than manually entering an ID number, and it directly helps deal with the heavy congestion and long lines near the machines. In a similar vein, Asufta argued that this is not a privacy violation but a “consumer feature” intended to solve an inherent market failure. The company explained that the software is designed to prevent professional bottle collectors from arriving with hundreds of bottles at once, occupying the machines for long hours and blocking access for private consumers.

Carmit Bardugo, deputy CEO and head of regulation at Asufta, sought to ease concerns and said the photographed information is encoded immediately and deleted shortly afterward. “We examined the issue from every angle and in compliance with privacy laws,” Bardugo said, adding that the sole purpose is to enable fair and convenient use for the general public while maintaining the limit of 50 bottles per individual recycler.

Rami Levy said in its official response to the opening of the review, “We are backed by a legal opinion on the matter.” The Privacy Protection Authority must now decide whether these explanations meet the test of local law, or whether this constitutes disproportionate biometric collection.