The Information, Law and Technology Authority (ILITA) imposed a fine of 258,000 NIS (about $67,000) for an illegal use and distribution of a database encompassing data on Israeli citizens.


M.N.R. Information Systems Ltd. provides services to debt collection agencies. The company developed a component that lets users locate up-to-date personal information related to specific persons. The company sold the component to customers along with a file containing personal information of the majority of the citizens of Israel, including full dates of birth, contact details and ID numbers of parents. The software enabled, inter-alia, the mapping of family relations. M.N.R. sold the component to approximately 80 different customers.


In the course of the enforcement action, ILITA issued, for the first time, a search warrant and an order to seize M.N.R.'s computers.


The imposition of a fine on M.N.R follows that of a fine of 177,000 NIS imposed by ILITA six months ago on a company that used and traded personal information from an illegal copy of a database with information on Israeli citizens.


The Israeli Parliament (Knesset) Constitution, Law and Justice Committee has recently approved an increase of the maximum fines available for ILITA—up to NIS 5,000 (about $1,300) for a single offense by an individual and up to 25,000 NIS (about $6,500) for an offense committed by a corporation.

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