Criticizing the new ‘Recording Law’ that PM Netanyahu is pushing forward, senior police official says, ‘The law could harm the practice of reporting complaints to the police.’
A senior official in the Israel Police has criticized the “Recording Law” that Prime Minister Benjamind Netanyahu has been promoting. The police official told Ynet that the law will not only harm the media, but law enforcement as well, because it will reduce the motivation of citizens to present evidence that they themselves recorded, as the act of recording would then constitute a crime.
According to the law, recording a call without the consent of the other party will be prohibited. This in contrast to the situation today, in which either party can record a conversation, even in secret. Currently, it is only prohibited for a person to wiretap a conversation they are not part of.
Netanyahu claims that the purpose of the initiative is the protection of privacy, as is the case in the US where several states already have similar laws on the books. However, according to the senior police official, even if law enforcement are excluded from the law, it will still not prevent damage to the police and judicial system.
“The law could harm the practice of reporting complaints to the police,” the official added. “Oftentimes, people make police complaints and present the police a recording they have made themselves. For example, complaints of threatening statements made against a person where the victim records the offender making the threats. It is likely that people will flinch at making a recording because it will be considered a crime and they will not like to see it presented in court, as it will expose them to prosecution.”
Additionally, the police official said that even if the law is passed and goes into effect, criminal enforcement will be minimal. However, he did stress that people will still be deterred from presenting police with recordings.
As reported by Ynetnews