Translation Notice — This is an English translation of a Hebrew law and may contain inaccuracies. In any dispute or legal matter, the original Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) is the sole authoritative and legally binding version.
Law
Protection of Privacy Law, 5741-1981
חוק הגנת הפרטיות
Section C: Administrative Warning
Administrative Warning
23lf.
[Amendment: 5784]
(a)If the Head of the Authority has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has violated a provision under this Law, as referred to in Section 23ka, and the circumstances prescribed by the Minister of Justice are met, the Head of the Authority may, instead of imposing a financial penalty on such person pursuant to the provisions of Section B, issue to that person an administrative warning in accordance with the provisions of this Section.
(b)In the administrative warning, the Head of the Authority shall specify the act constituting the violation, the circumstances of its commission and the date of its commission, shall notify the violator that they must cease the violation and that if they continue the violation or repeat it they shall be liable to a financial penalty for a continuing violation or a repeat violation, as the case may be, and shall specify the method of calculating the amount of the penalty, as referred to in Section 23lh, and shall further specify the violator's right to request cancellation of the warning pursuant to the provisions of Section 23lz.
Request for Cancellation of Administrative Warning
23lg.
[Amendment: 5784]
(a)Where an administrative warning has been issued to a violator as referred to in Section 23lo, the violator may apply to the Head of the Authority, in writing, within 45 days, requesting cancellation of the warning on any of the following grounds:
(1)the violator did not commit the violation;
(2)the act committed by the violator, as detailed in the warning, does not constitute a violation.
(b)The Head of the Authority may extend the period referred to in subsection (a), for special reasons that shall be recorded.
(c)Where the Head of the Authority has received a request for cancellation of an administrative warning pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a), the Head of the Authority may cancel the warning or reject the request and leave the warning in force; the decision of the Head of the Authority shall be given in writing and shall be delivered to the violator together with reasons.
Continuing Violation and Repeat Violation Following a Warning
23lh.
[Amendment: 5784]
(a)Where an administrative warning has been issued to a violator pursuant to the provisions of this Section and the violator continues to violate the provision in respect of which the warning was issued, such violation shall be deemed a continuing violation, and the provisions of Section 23l(a) shall apply, and the Head of the Authority shall deliver to the violator a notice of intent to impose liability for the continuing violation in accordance with the provisions of Section 23kz, with the necessary modifications.
(b)Where an administrative warning has been issued to a violator pursuant to the provisions of this Section and the violator again violates the provision in respect of which the warning was issued, within two years from the date of delivery of the warning, such additional violation shall be deemed a repeat violation for the purposes of Section 23l(b), and the Head of the Authority shall deliver to the violator a notice of intent to impose liability for the repeat violation, in accordance with the provisions of Section 23kz, with the necessary modifications.
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Contact Us →Section D: Undertaking to Refrain from Violation
Notice of the Option to Submit an Undertaking and Deposit a Bail
23li.
[Amendment: 5784]
If the Head of the Authority had reasonable grounds to believe that a person had violated a provision under this Law, as referred to in Section 23kf, and the circumstances prescribed by the Minister of Justice were met, the Head of the Authority may deliver to the violator a written notice of the option to submit to the Head of the Authority a letter of undertaking and to deposit a bail in accordance with the provisions of this Section, in lieu of the financial penalty that may be imposed upon the violator pursuant to the provisions of Section B.
Terms of the Undertaking and Amount of the Bail
23m.
[Amendment: 5784]
(a)In the letter of undertaking, the violator shall undertake to cease the violation of the provision as referred to in Section 23lט and to refrain from committing a further violation of the same provision, within a period to be determined by the Head of the Authority, commencing on the date of submission of the letter of undertaking, provided that such period shall not exceed two years (in this Section — the undertaking period).
(b)The Head of the Authority may prescribe in the letter of undertaking additional conditions that the violator must undertake and comply with during the undertaking period, for the purpose of reducing the harm caused by the violation or preventing its recurrence.
(c)In addition to the letter of undertaking, the violator shall deposit with the Authority a bail in the amount of the financial penalty that the Head of the Authority was authorized to impose on the violator in respect of that violation, taking into account the existence of the circumstances and considerations enumerated in the Fifth Schedule.
(d)The Head of the Authority may, at the request of the violator and for reasons that shall be recorded, exempt the violator from depositing the bail pursuant to subsection (c) or reduce the amount of the bail to be deposited by the violator pursuant to that subsection.
Consequences of Submitting or Failing to Submit a Letter of Undertaking and Bail
23ma.
[Amendment: 5784]
(a)If the violator submitted to the Head of the Authority a letter of undertaking and deposited a bail in accordance with this Section within 45 days of the date of delivery of the notice as referred to in Section 23lט, no financial penalty shall be imposed upon the violator in respect of that violation; if the violator did not submit to the Head of the Authority a letter of undertaking or did not deposit a bail within the said period, the Head of the Authority shall serve upon the violator a notice of intention to impose a liability in respect of that violation, pursuant to Section 23kz.
(b)The Head of the Authority may extend the period referred to in subsection (a) for special reasons that shall be recorded.
Breach of Undertaking
23mb.
[Amendment: 5784]
(a)If the violator submitted a letter of undertaking and deposited a bail pursuant to this Section and breached a condition of the undertaking, as detailed in the following paragraphs, the provisions set out in those paragraphs shall apply, as the case may be:
(1)If the violator continued, during the undertaking period, to violate the provision in respect of which the violator gave the letter of undertaking, or resumed violating that provision during the same period, such violation shall be deemed a continuing violation for the purposes of Section 23l(a) or a repeated violation for the purposes of Section 23l(b), as the case may be, and the following provisions shall apply:
(a)The Head of the Authority shall deliver to the violator a notice of intention to impose a liability in respect of the continuing violation or the repeated violation, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of Section 23kz, with the necessary modifications;
(b)If the Head of the Authority issued to the violator a payment demand in respect of the continuing violation or the repeated violation, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of Section 23kt(b)(1), or if the violator did not submit arguments before the Head of the Authority regarding that violation as referred to in Section 23kt(d), the Head of the Authority shall forfeit the bail in addition to imposing the financial penalty in respect of the continuing violation or the repeated violation; if the Head of the Authority decided, pursuant to Section 23m(d), to exempt the violator from depositing the bail or to reduce the amount of the bail, the Head of the Authority shall issue to the violator a payment demand pursuant to Section 23kt that also includes the amount of the bail in respect of which the exemption was granted or the portion by which the bail amount was reduced, as the case may be, with the addition of shekel interest from the date of the Head of the Authority's decision on the exemption or reduction as aforesaid until the date of service of the payment demand;
(2)If the violator breached a condition from among the additional conditions prescribed in the letter of undertaking as referred to in Section 23m(b) — the Head of the Authority shall forfeit the bail, and if the Head of the Authority decided, pursuant to Section 23m(d), to exempt the violator from depositing the bail or to reduce the amount of the bail, the Head of the Authority shall issue to the violator a payment demand pursuant to Section 23kt in respect of the amount of the bail for which the exemption was granted or in respect of the portion by which the bail amount was reduced, as the case may be, with the addition of shekel interest from the date of the Head of the Authority's decision on the exemption or reduction as aforesaid until the date of service of the payment demand; the Head of the Authority shall not forfeit the bail or send a payment demand pursuant to this paragraph except after having given the violator an opportunity to submit arguments, in writing, regarding the breach of the conditions as aforesaid.
(b)For the purposes of this Chapter, the forfeiture of the bail pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be deemed the imposition of a financial penalty on the violator in respect of the violation for which the bail was given.
(c)If a condition of the undertaking was breached as referred to in this Section, and the violator committed a further violation of the provision in respect of which the violator gave the letter of undertaking, the Head of the Authority shall not permit the violator to submit an additional letter of undertaking pursuant to the provisions of this Section in respect of that violation.
Return of the Bail
23mc.
[Amendment: 5784]
If the violator complied with the conditions of the letter of undertaking submitted pursuant to this Section, the bail deposited by the violator shall be returned upon the expiration of the undertaking period, together with shekel interest from the date of its deposit until the date of its return.
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Contact Us →Section E: Miscellaneous Provisions Regarding Financial Sanctions
Financial Sanction for Violation of Multiple Provisions Under This Law and Under Another Law
23md.
[Amendment: 5784]
For a single act constituting a violation of multiple provisions under this Law, and for an act constituting a violation of a provision listed in Section 23kf as well as a violation under another law, no more than one financial sanction shall be imposed.
Appeal, Stay of Execution, and Refund
23me.
[Amendment: 5784]
(a)The application of an administrative enforcement measure pursuant to Sections B through E may be appealed to the Magistrate's Court before which the President of the Magistrate's Court sits, within 45 days from the date on which notice of the execution of the action was served.
(b)The filing of an appeal against a decision of the Head of the Authority pursuant to Sections B through E shall not operate to stay the execution of the decision, unless the Head of the Authority has consented thereto or the court has so ordered.
(c)The court hearing the appeal may affirm the decision of the Head of the Authority, amend it, annul it, or render a different decision in its place, and may remand the matter with directions to the Head of the Authority.
(d)Where the court, after the financial sanction has been paid or the surety deposited, decides to allow an appeal as referred to in subsection (a) and orders the return of the amount of the financial sanction paid, or the reduction of the financial sanction, or the return of the surety, the amount paid or any portion thereof that was reduced, or the surety, as the case may be, shall be returned, together with shekel interest from the date of its payment or deposit until the date of its return.
Publication
23mf.
[Amendment: 5784]
(a)Where the Head of the Authority has imposed a financial sanction pursuant to this Chapter, the Head of the Authority shall publish on the website of the Privacy Protection Authority the following particulars, in a manner that ensures transparency with respect to the exercise of discretion in reaching the decision to impose a financial sanction:
(1)the fact that the financial sanction was imposed;
(2)the nature of the violation for which the financial sanction was imposed, the date of the commission of the violation, and the circumstances of the violation;
(3)the amount of the financial sanction imposed;
(4)if the financial sanction was reduced — the circumstances on account of which the amount of the financial sanction was reduced and the rates of reduction;
(5)relevant particulars concerning the violator;
(6)the name of the violator — if the violator is a corporation, unless it is a corporation managed by a sole individual and whose name is the name of its sole owner.
(b)Publication pursuant to this Section shall not be carried out unless the violator has been given an opportunity to present arguments; the opportunity to present arguments pursuant to this subsection may be given to the violator in the framework of the right to be heard under Section 23kh, provided that the Head of the Authority notified the violator of the intention to publish the violator's name in the notice of intent to impose liability pursuant to Section 23kg.
(c)Where an appeal has been filed against the decision of the Head of the Authority to impose a financial sanction, the Head of the Authority shall publish, in the same manner as published pursuant to subsection (a), notice of the filing of the appeal and its outcome.
(d)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a)(6), the Head of the Authority —
(1)shall not publish the name of a violator that is a corporation if satisfied that the violation is of minor gravity in the circumstances of the matter, unless publication is necessary to warn members of the public whose personal data are held in the database;
(2)shall publish the name of a violator who is an individual, or of a corporation whose name is the name of its sole owner, if of the opinion that it is necessary to warn the public.
(e)Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, the Head of the Authority shall not publish particulars that constitute information which a public authority is precluded from disclosing pursuant to Section 9(a) of the Freedom of Information Law, and may likewise refrain from publishing particulars pursuant to this Section that constitute information which a public authority is not required to disclose pursuant to Section 9(b) of that Law.
(f)Publication pursuant to this Section with respect to a financial sanction imposed on a corporation shall remain in effect for a period of four years, and with respect to a financial sanction imposed on an individual — for a period of two years.
(g)The Minister of Justice, with the approval of the Constitution Committee, may prescribe additional means of publishing the particulars referred to in this Section.
Preservation of Criminal Liability
23mg.
[Amendment: 5784]
(a)The payment of a financial sanction, the issuance of an administrative warning, or the submission of an undertaking and the deposit of a surety pursuant to this Chapter shall not derogate from the criminal liability of a person for violation of a provision under this Law that constitutes an offence.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), where a notice of intent to impose liability, an administrative warning, or a notice of the possibility of submitting an undertaking and depositing a surety has been served on a violator in respect of a violation that also constitutes an offence, an indictment shall not be filed against the violator in respect of that same violation, unless new facts have come to light that justify doing so, as provided in Section 23tf; where new facts as aforesaid have come to light and an indictment is filed against the violator after the violator has paid a financial sanction or deposited a surety, the amount paid or the surety deposited, as the case may be, shall be returned to the violator, together with shekel interest and late payment fees from the date of payment of the amount or from the date of deposit of the surety until the date of its return.
(c)Where an indictment has been filed against a person in respect of an offence constituting a violation, the Head of the Authority shall not take proceedings against that person pursuant to Sections B through E in respect of the violation.
Delegation of Powers
23mh.
[Amendment: 5784]
The Head of the Authority may delegate the Head of the Authority's powers under Sections B through E to a senior employee directly subordinate to the Head of the Authority who is responsible for the field of financial sanctions; notice of such delegation shall be published in the Official Gazette.
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