AG says proposed law for government to take over TV ratings violates privacy, freedom of press

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara issues a position paper asserting that legislation being advanced by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi that would have a government agency collect TV viewing data and force broadcasters to publish such figures would violate key constitutional principles, including the right to privacy and freedom of the press.

The legislation, approved in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation for passage to the Knesset today, would see the communications minister establish “a framework” for measuring TV broadcast viewing figures and force Israel’s various broadcasters to report this data to the agency, including viewers’ age, gender, societal background, and place of residence.

It would also force the broadcasters to display its viewing figures at peak hours.

Baharav-Miara writes that the legislation would create “political interference” in the broadcast market, and that the idea of the government systematically collecting viewing data without viewers’ authorization, including key details of their identity as provided for in the bill, would severely harm the right to privacy.

“The mere coercive collection of information from the general public, without express consent being given by each person about whom information is collected, and the systematic transfer of it to government authorities — the broadcasting regulators and the Communications Ministry — amounts to a serious violation of the constitutional right to privacy,” writes the attorney general.

She adds that forcibly collecting this data would harm the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press, asserting that “exposing the content a viewer watches to an external, political governmental body” would likely have a “chilling effect” on the content that viewers consume.

Karhi says in response that Baharav-Miara’s position paper was “extraneous” since it would undergo “the necessary adjustments” so that it does “not harm the privacy of users,” although he did not detail what adjustments would be made.

He adds that since the legislation is being advanced as a private members bill “her opinion is as important as garlic peel,” adding that the law would be advanced “in accordance with principles that we determine.”

Private members bills, unlike government bills, do not need approval from the Attorney General’s Office to advance through the legislative process.