The Law for the Installation of Cameras for the Protection of Toddlers in Toddler Daycares, 5779-2018 (“The Law”) comprehensively and in detail regulates the issue of camera use in toddler daycares. The purpose of the law is “to protect the well-being of toddlers staying in a toddler daycare from harm by installing cameras, while preserving, as much as possible, the Dignity and privacy of the toddlers, the staff at the daycare, and any other person present at the daycare.”

The law requires daycares to install surveillance cameras on their premises, establishing detailed arrangements regarding the use of cameras, including arrangements concerning camera placement, the obligation to inform about camera operation, how cameras are installed and operated, the preservation of recordings, granting access permissions to recordings, all for the purpose of balancing the protection of the well-being of those staying in daycares with the protection of the right to privacy and dignity of the toddlers and the daycare staff.

In November 2024, a comprehensive amendment to the law was passed, which anchors the possibility for Parents to view recordings in real-time or periodically, in accordance with the provisions of the law and at the discretion of the daycare operator. The law grants the Privacy Protection Authority the authority to publish guidelines for daycare operators, system administrators, and Parents of toddlers registered at a daycare that has decided to allow real-time or periodic viewing, regarding information security, cyber protection, and privacy. The guidelines published by the Authority, for public comments, include, among other things, the following highlights:

• The use of cameras must be done only in accordance with the provisions of the law and for the purpose of protecting the well-being of toddlers. Any other use of cameras installed at the daycare (except during hours when toddlers are not present at the daycare) or of the recorded material is prohibited.
• The use of cameras is for video recording only. Audio recording by cameras is prohibited.
• It is forbidden to install additional cameras or other recording systems (such as facial recognition systems), apart from cameras whose installation and operation are permitted under the provisions of the law, and under the conditions stipulated therein.
• Cameras must be visible, and it is forbidden to install cameras in bathrooms and toilets.
• Making viewing options available to Parents is voluntary and at the discretion of the daycare operator. A daycare operator is not obligated to allow Parents to view the cameras, and this is at their choice.
• Viewing recordings, copying them, transferring them to others, or transferring information that enables viewing them is prohibited unless by court order or in accordance with the provisions of the law.
• The daycare operator must inform all those entering the daycare premises, and especially the parents of toddlers and the daycare staff, about the operation of cameras at the daycare, and about their intention to allow parents to view the recordings.
• Parents’ viewing of recordings can only take place with the consent of 100% of the parents and only in one of the following ways:
  • In the format of online real-time viewing.
  • In the format of periodic online viewing.
  • In the format of periodic viewing on the daycare premises by a representative of the parents.

When a daycare operator informs parents of toddlers, at the time of registration and explicitly, of their intention to allow parents to view recordings, the parents’ registration of their children at the daycare under these circumstances signifies their consent for parents of toddlers at the daycare to view recordings during the upcoming school year, and the daycare operator is not required to obtain further consent from those parents in order to allow parents to view recordings.

In any case, parents should not be allowed to view through more than one channel, and if the consent of all parents of toddlers at the daycare is not obtained – parents should not be allowed to view cameras, except on an individual basis and according to the decision of the Israel Police. A daycare operator may view recordings only if they have chosen the periodic viewing format on the daycare premises, and only during the viewing at the daycare together with a representative of the parents. Viewing and use of recordings by a daycare operator in any other format, including processing the recordings for behavioral analysis purposes, is prohibited.

• Regarding the potential for harm to the privacy of daycare staff and toddlers, the viewing formats possible under the Camera Law can be divided as follows:
  • Real-time online viewing by all parents of toddlers at the daycare – high risk of privacy violation and information security incidents.
  • Periodic remote viewing, at a frequency not exceeding once a month, by all parents of toddlers at the daycare – medium risk of privacy violation and information security incidents.
  • Periodic viewing from the daycare premises, through a parent representative, at a frequency not exceeding once a week – medium-low risk of privacy violation and information security incidents.

The daycare operator must consider the potential for privacy violation and information security risks, according to the aforementioned hierarchy, when deciding whether to allow parents of toddlers to view recordings at all, and regarding the viewing format that will be implemented at the daycare, should they decide to allow such viewing.

• The daycare operator is the controller of the database and must act in accordance with all the obligations applicable to a database controller under the provisions of the Privacy Protection Law and Privacy Regulations.
• As a general rule, the daycare operator must retain the recordings for a period of 30 days from the date of recording and at the end of the period permanently delete the recordings.
• A daycare operator who violates the provisions of the law will be subject to significant financial sanctions.

Justice Ministry

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