TAU’s Privacy Clinic, in collaboration with The Chief Justice Meir Shamgar Center for Digital Law and Innovation commenced its activities in the Fall of 2022. It is the first clinic of its kind in Israel, and at present, one of the few in the world.

The right to privacy operates in several socio-legal contexts: between citizens and the state, between consumers and corporations – both online and offline, and in human interaction. Privacy operates when people meet the media, between employers and employees, and in fact, in any social context. Despite the explicit constitutional anchor in Israeli law and despite the Privacy Protection Act, it is yet to be fully developed. We witness privacy violations in numerous contexts, such as police use of surveillance technologies and other public authorities, where familiar constitutional balances are ignored. We witness data breaches, widespread excessive collection of personal data, and many online violations of privacy. TAU’s Privacy Clinic will strive to better establish privacy in Israeli society.

Students’ clinical experience includes handling individual cases, joining pending litigation, and public policy. Students will participate in selecting cases, and will be involved in managing them throughout the duration of their studies. The clinical work is accompanied by a weekly class on privacy.