The Lod District Court has issued a significant ruling in a lawsuit filed by former Israel Bar Association Chair Efi Nave against journalist Hadas Steif and Galatz (Army Radio). According to reports in Maariv, the court ordered Steif to pay Nave 450,000 NIS for privacy violations and an additional 25,000 NIS for defamatory posts on Facebook. The ruling clarifies the boundaries between investigative journalism and conduct that violates the Privacy Protection Law.
The court emphasized that while Steif did not personally hack the phones, she was the central and initiating figure behind the operation. Findings indicate that Steif mediated between Nave's ex-wife and the party who actually hacked the password-protected devices, and she approved the extraction of information from them. The court rejected Steif's attempts to rely on defenses provided by the Privacy Protection Law, ruling that her actions deviated from professional ethical standards. The verdict states that a journalist cannot take an active part in or assist in the commission of an offense of obtaining information, while simultaneously expecting to enjoy legal protections afforded to media personnel. The judges noted that the violation of privacy stemmed from the act of hacking and viewing the device content, not from the news content broadcast to the public.
A key legal aspect of the ruling concerns the vicarious liability of the broadcasting organization. The court held that Galatz bears responsibility for Steif's actions, as they were performed within the scope of her role as the station's crime reporter. According to the court, this decision may contribute to strengthening professional and responsible investigative journalism in the future. This point has broad implications for media outlets in Israel regarding the employment of investigative reporters and the liability derived from their actions. The ruling serves as a reminder that the right to freedom of the press does not grant immunity from tort and privacy laws, especially when illicit means are used to obtain journalistic materials.