Privacy Authority orders police review of how Yahalomi footage, personal information reached media

According to an investigation by the Authority, the information published on some media outlets may have come from the police, while it's not been determined that a privacy violation occurred.

The Privacy Protection Authority instructed Israel Police’s internal privacy inspector on Sunday to examine how footage and sensitive information about Mali and Liel Yahalomi reached the media after the mother and daughter were found in Argentina, and what privacy considerations police weighed before authorizing publication.

The authority said its review of media reports indicated that at least some of the information may have come from the police. It has not determined that a privacy violation occurred.

The pair were found on a bus in Argentina on August 14 after a weeklong search. Police released footage of an Israeli police representative approaching them. The authority cited later reports that included details from the investigation, such as private correspondence, searches using artificial intelligence tools, the women’s financial situation and transactions, their movements and location, and their expected arrival date in Israel.

Authority warns about publishing information of missing people in vulnerable situations

The authority said the public should be informed when missing women are found and safe, but raised concerns about publishing footage of them in vulnerable moments and exposing personal details after they had been located.

“The importance of reporting that missing women have been located and are safe is clear to all,” Privacy Protection Authority head Gilad Semama said. “But there is real difficulty in publishing videos of them in vulnerable moments and exposing their personal details, movements, location and financial transactions after they have already been found.”

Semama said the reports appeared to have originated in the police investigation and may have seriously infringed on the women’s privacy without legitimate justification or in line with police procedures.

Semama wrote to Police Commissioner Daniel Levy and the police’s internal privacy inspector, George Kevorkian, directing the inspector to use the supervisory powers granted under the Privacy Protection Law to conduct a comprehensive review. The inspector is to examine how the footage and personal details reached news outlets, whether police procedures were followed, and what criteria, if any, were considered before publication was authorized.

The inspector must also develop lessons for handling privacy issues when police share information with the media in similar cases and provide the findings to the Privacy Protection Authority. The review is being conducted by the police’s internal privacy inspector. No findings have been announced.