Privacy Authority Warns Parties Against Real-Time Voter Tracking
The Privacy Protection Authority warns that transmitting voter turnout and ballot data to parties via apps is illegal, citing recent Supreme Court rulings ahead of election day.
Ahead of election day, the Privacy Protection Authority has issued a reminder that party representatives at polling stations are strictly prohibited from transmitting voter turnout and voting status data to political parties through any means, including election mobile applications. Citing a landmark Supreme Court ruling from September 17, 2026, the authority emphasized that such data transfers violate privacy rights and lack legal authorization.
In an additional ruling issued on October 22, 2026, the court prohibited polling station committee members and party observers from digitally, manually, or physically tracking and transmitting real-time voter turnout figures to political factions. Consequently, sharing aggregate data on the number of voters who have cast their ballots—even without personally identifiable information—remains unlawful.
The authority underscored that the obligation to safeguard voter privacy applies universally to parties, representatives, app developers, vendors, and political activists. Furthermore, mandatory reporting protocols to the Privacy Protection Authority apply in the event of serious security breaches involving databases derived from the voter registry.
Head of the Privacy Protection Authority, Adv. Gilad Semama, stated:
"The authority has made it clear that it will actively enforce these prohibitions in appropriate cases, utilizing its administrative and criminal authorities."
During election day, the authority will operate a dedicated hotline to handle privacy-related inquiries and complaints. Representatives will also be stationed inside the Knesset election command center to monitor and address field incidents in real time.
