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Telecom Networks Neutrality Bill Passes First Knesset Reading

The Knesset (Israeli parliament) recently approved, in first reading, the “Telecom Networks Neutrality” bill (Communications Bill (telecommunications and broadcast) (Amendment No. 58) (prohibition on restriction or blockage), 5773-2013), text in Hebrew). The law would prohibit Internet service providers, telecommunications companies, and cable and satellite broadcast companies from limiting, restricting or impeding a subscriber's use of any particular content service, ...

National Library of Israel to launch archive of Israeli web

The National Library of Israel recently began a project, dubbed “ArchiNet”, that aims to create an archive of all Israeli websites ending in the suffix (country code Top Level Domain - ccTLD) .il. The purpose of ArchiNet is to document the Israeli and Jewish heritage on the web, and to allow for future historical research regarding the Israeli webspace. Although the web pages included in the ...

Petition to collect VAT from foreign web companies

Advocate Guy Ophir has petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice (Supreme Court) against the Minister of Finance and the Tax Authority, after his initial request a few months ago was not addressed to his satisfaction. Mr. Ophir's original request to the Israeli Tax Authority alleged that the Authority unlawfully exempts foreign web companies such as Facebook and Google from ...

Israeli Tax Authority: Bitcoin profits must be reported and taxed

The virtual currency Bitcoin introduces considerable difficulties for authorities in Israel and around the world, due to its unique characteristics: no country or central bank is responsible for its issuance, its exchange rate is extremely fluctuant, it’s not based on any known economic model, and it can be traded anonymously. Advocate Paul Landes, The head of the Israel Money Laundering ...

Former Israeli privacy commissioner: 'the national biometric database is prone to security threats'

In December 2009, the Israeli parliament (the 'Knesset') enacted the Biometric Identifiers and Biometric Data Inclusion in Identification Documents and in a Database Act (the "Biometric Act"; see our detailed article). The Biometric Act's primary purpose was to tackle large-scale loss and theft of identification cards and passports, later used by criminals and terrorists. This past July, the Israeli ...

Security breach notification bill proposed in the Knesset

A bill recently brought before the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament), seeks to oblige owners and holders of databases, to notify data subjects and the Database Registrar at the Israeli Ministry of Justice, if their database has been breached. According to the proposed amendment to the Protection of Privacy Law (see the proposed amendment bill, in Hebrew), the Database Registrar may ...

Viewing pedophilic content to be a criminal offense in Israel

The Israeli Ministry of Justice recently published a memorandum of bill to amend the Israeli Penal Code to prohibit viewing pedophilic content via the Internet. The Penal Code presently prohibits only the possession and publication of such content. The memorandum of bill is initially released for public comments, prior to submitting it for legislation in the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset. ...

Israeli Supreme Court: circumvention of copyright protection is not prohibited

In a recent notable case, the Israeli Supreme Court held that the sale of devices that circumvent technological measures which control the access to copyright protected works, neither constitutes copyright infringement in itself nor contributes to an infringement (CA 5097/11 Telran Communications (1986) Ltd. v. Charlton Ltd., in Hebrew).

The two litigants appealed the judgment of the Tel ...
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