Move to Bring Email Lists Under Privacy Law Questioned (1)

Businesses with at least 10,000 electronic contacts would have to follow Israel’s strict privacy rules for those lists—even if they include only names and email addresses—under a sweeping new legal opinion from Israel’s Privacy Protection Authority.

The authority, in an emailed statement Nov. 28, said such lists constitute a “database” under the country’s privacy protection and data security laws. The interpretation takes immediate effect, although it’s likely to face a legal challenge, attorneys say.

Israel’s Privacy Protection Act requires organizations and businesses to protect information they hold on people for business or public purposes. Because an email address can be ...