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Latest Updates / Internet
June 22, 2017
Binary Options in Israel – The End?
On June 2017, the government of Israel approved a draft bill to amend the Securities Law that is intended to tip the scales in the battle being waged in the financial trading sector over binary options.
May 29, 2017
Regulators Tightening the Screws on Online Gambling
In an interview with TheMarker, Our Head of the Internet Department at Barnea and Co., discussed the fact that regulation of online gambling companies is becoming increasingly more onerous.
May 10, 2017
The Regulator Entered the Casino
In response to the emerging trend of tightening regulation on online gambling companies, we were asked to participate in an interview with TheMarker. We commented that regulation in this area comes in two forms. One is market regulation and the imposition of licensing fees, gambling taxes, and corporate tax. The second is banning online activity, imposing fines, and filing indictments.
May 7, 2017
Tel Aviv University Innovation Conference
For the second year, Barnea is taking part in the Tel Aviv University Innovation Conference. In the framework of the conference, Micky Barnea, will lecture on the subject of the legal challenges entailed in late staged startups and will judge in the competition final with other mentors from Shazam, Prezi, Capsula, Strauss Group and IAI.Adv. Yuval Lazi and Ariella Dreyfuss, will judge in the start-up competition in the Fintech, Gaming and IoT sectors. Yuval Lazi will also participate in a panel discussion on funding a start-up, together with a representative of the Office of the Chief Scientist, Tau Ventures' CEO and the CEO of "Cockpit", El-Al's start-up support program.
March 8, 2017
The Right to Review Digital Database
Within the scope of a new directive published recently by the database registrar at the Israeli Law, Information and Technology Authority, entities, such as service-providers, that retain recordings of telephone conversations or chat correspondence with their customers will be forced to enable their customers (the subjects of the information) to also access information of this type. This according to the right of access prescribed in the Privacy Protection Law and the regulations instituted by virtue thereof.
March 7, 2017
Analysis: Israel’s Binary Options Ban Disrespects Foreign Regulators
Anyone who followed the financial press in Israel In the recent months would have realized that the Israel Securities Authority is on the war path against the binary option industry in Israel, and has every intention of closing it down. According to the Chairman of the ISA, Prof. Shmuel Houser, binary options are very similar to gambling, and often may involve fraudulent business practices intended to deceive the unaware investing public.
February 26, 2017
How Blockchain will Revolutionize a Paper World
In many ways, electronic communications dominate the world as we know it. We talk through email, text, and social media, to the point that the written letter is almost an anachronism. Still, some areas still thrive on paper. Real estate, for example, depends on paper deeds and documentation to confirm authenticity. Similarly, many corporations depend on paper records to demonstrate regulatory compliance. But blockchain is helping to change all of that. The technology that made Bitcoin work is expanding, in Israel and beyond, to help secure online processes and chains of custody in ways that can help shift paper-dominated fields into the 21st century.
February 26, 2017
E-Commerce – Law and Legal Authority
Our Head of the Internet Department at Barnea, in an article (in Hebrew) for The Marker, discussing the question of how e-commerce activities may be subject to different legal systems, which can contain rules that do not match and even contradict, especially in matters of licensing and regulation.
February 6, 2017
Taxation Factors for Operations Over the Internet
The explosion of e-commerce in the last 15 years has made it easier than ever to manage the logistics of doing business in multiple countries. The global reach it creates, though, has spawned a litany of tax questions. You need to determine which jurisdictions have the authority to tax you and your business activity and what taxes apply. Your physical location and your end-customer locations can impact what you pay to whom, but other factors might also apply. Managing this process is critical to your continued e-commerce operations.
February 5, 2017
Doing Business in Israel – Practical Law
Doing Business in Israel? A QA guide to doing business in Israel written by Barnea was published in the Practical Law website. The guide gives an overview of the legal system, foreign investment, regulation, and other issues pertaining to Israel.
January 25, 2017
Navigating Anti-Spam Legislation
Spam consists of unsolicited text messages, email messages, faxes or auto-dial calls that are sent for commercial purposes. Due to the ease and low cost in which e-mails can be sent, e-mails are the main focus of any discussion concerning spam. In Israel and around the world, preventing unsolicited e-mails has gained attention as creating serious privacy concerns – in connection with the sending of unsolicited e-mails as well as in connection with the manner in which the e-mail addresses are gathered for the purpose of sending the e-mails. In order to tackle these issues, laws against spam were enacted across the world.
January 24, 2017
Israel Seeks Tax on Bitcoin, Virtual Currency Transactions
Adv. Harel Perlmutter, Head of the Tax Department at Barnea, was interview by Bloomberg regarding a draft circular of the Israel Tax Authority on taxation of virtual currencies (bitcoins and the like). Harel commented that the draft imposes almost insurmountable restrictions on the use of virtual currencies in Israel, due to the liabilities and costs involved.
January 22, 2017
Draft Circular on Taxation of Activities Using Virtual Currencies
The Israel Tax Authority published a draft circular on taxation of virtual currencies (bitcoins and the like). According to the Draft, the ITA’s position is that virtual currencies should be deemed “assets” and not as currency or foreign currency or even as financial instruments.
December 18, 2016
Create Effective Website Terms and Conditions
Your website exists to help your clients and customers find and interact with you. You may include e-commerce capabilities, or you may primarily seek to inform people about your company and your products and services. Whatever your goals are, though, you must be on guard; people naturally seek to rely on what they see online. This can be a good thing, but you need to create parameters around what they can and cannot rely on your site to do.
December 8, 2016
Three Technological Predictions for the Next 5 Years
The world around us is changing. In labs and living rooms around the world, people are creating new technologies and finding new applications for existing and emerging technologies. The products and services available to everyone thus expand exponentially every year. In the next five years, then, you can expect massive growth in what we can do. Three areas in particular will provide important developments.
September 21, 2016
Deadline Extension for Making Internet Websites and Mobile Applications Accessible to People With Disabilities
A few days ago the Knesset Labor, Welfare and Health Committee enacted an amendment to Section 35 of the website accessibility regulations, called "the Equal Rights for People with Disabilities (Service Accessibility Adjustments) Regulations 5773-2013" (the “Regulations”).
August 31, 2016
Amendment to the “Anti-Spam Law”
The Knesset's new anti-spam legislation includes any advertisement disseminated to the public at large that asks for a contribution or that constitutes non-commercial propaganda.
August 9, 2016
Israel's Leadership in the Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a popular technology buzzword in the last decade. As with many such phrases, it has garnered widespread usage with little understanding of what it actually signifies. Far from meaningless terminology, though, IoT already pervades the consumer marketplace, and growth opportunities abound. Israels sophisticated tech sector provides fertile ground for continued expansion in IoT investment and development.
August 4, 2016
Barnea & Co. Represented Stride Gaming PLC
Adv. Karin Kashi of Barnea represented Stride Gaming PLC, an online Bingo operator traded on AIM, London, in a major transaction recently. The Stride group acquired the assets and shares of Tarco Limited and Netboost Media Limited for consideration of up to GBP 40.2 million. GBP 22 million of the amount will be paid in accordance with the 2017 EBITDA of the acquired businesses.
July 24, 2016
CySEC is stepping up enforcement of Israeli FOREX companies
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has begun to increase enforcement on Israeli companies operating in the field of FOREX and binary options and promote reform that could hamper their operations. Our Head of the Internet Department at Barnea, was interviewed by Calcalist on this issue. He remarked that Israeli companies operating in Cyprus are examining alternative places, such as Malta or Eastern European countries in the EU.