Topics Internet Law Update

Israeli Ministry of Communications supports content filtering as default

The Israeli Ministry of Communications plans to highlight and expand the current measures to which Internet access providers are obligated, in order to enhance the public exposure to the free filtering services they offer their customers. The step comes after the Minister of Communications concluded that the main problem stems from the fact that parents are unaware of the services ...

Google settles auto-complete defamation suit in Israel

Internet entrepreneur Tzachi Rosenthal reached a settlement agreement with web giant Google, in a defamation lawsuit filed in Israel against the popular search engine. In the lawsuit, Rosenthal alleged that when Google's search engine is used to search for his name, the engine's Autocomplete function suggests defamatory phrase supplements such as “con man”, “cheat”, “fraud” and "ponzi".

During court proceedings, the ...

Israeli Banks Receive Ransom Letters from Hackers

In the past several days, hackers sent fierce ransom letters to three banks in Israel. In the letters, the hackers threaten to turn over the personal details of the banks’ customers into hostile hands, unless the banks pay 30 Bitcoins (approx. 19,000 US Dollars) by the end of this week. The hackers claim to possess the personal details of over ...

New website accessibility regulations in Israel

Regulations for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Adjustments for Access to Service), 5773-2013 (available here in Hebrew) recently entered into force in Israel. The regulations govern, among other things, the accessibility adjustments that websites are required to make in order to allow people with disabilities to use the websites and access the information contained in them.

The regulations apply ...

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, ...

Israeli National Cyber Bureau will Establish CERT

The Israeli National Cyber Bureau is working to establish an Israeli Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), as its first national initiative - announced Mr. Rami Efrati, the head of civil affairs at the Cyber Bureau. CERT is in charge, among other things, of information security incidents involving government or large scale organizations. According to the Israeli government's information security website ...

Unprecedented settlement in Israel clearly delineates fair digital use

For the first time in Israel, a settlement (a copy of which is available here, in Hebrew) enables institutions of higher education to use books and articles for teaching purposes without remuneration, and instantiates clear substantive rules for the ‘fair use’ doctrine specified in the Israeli Copyright Law. 
  
The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Schocken Publishing House and 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 ...
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