AFP – Three young Israelis formerly serving in military cyber units have figured out how to trace your digital footprint – and provide you with the tools to remove it.
Mine, a company co-founded by Gal Ringel, Gal Golan, and Kobi Nissen, says it uses artificial intelligence to show users where their information is being stored – like with a sneaker purchase three years ago. After whether an online shoe store kept your data.
Ringel said Mine’s technology has already been used by one million people worldwide, with more than 10 million “right to be forgotten” requests sent to companies using the firm’s platform.
Mine launched after the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – now an international reference point – sets out important rights for users, including the removal of personal data that is shared with the site for a limited purpose. it was done.
The company’s AI technology scans the subject lines of users’ emails and flags where the data is being stored.
Sign up for Tech Israel Daily and never miss Israel’s top tech stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
Individuals can then decide what information they want to delete and use Mine’s email templates to execute their right to be forgotten.
Gal Ringel, co-founder and CEO of Israeli company ‘Mine’, shows an app on his phone during an interview at his office in Tel Aviv on April 26, 2022 (JACK GUEZ/AFP)
This means they can remove their digital footprint “with a click of a button,” Ringel said.
“We are not asking people not to use Facebook or Google. We say: go ahead, enjoy, use whatever you want, ”he said.
“But as you enjoy using the Internet, we will show you who knows what about you, what they know about you… what is the risk” and how to remove it, he said.
‘challenging’
Last year, hackers broke into the database of Etraf, an Israeli LGBTQ dating website, using personal information for extortion.
A year ago, Shirbit, a major insurance company, was hacked and data was stolen.
Despite those and smaller breaches, Nama Matarasso Karpel from the advocacy group Privacy Israel said the public was relatively indifferent.
He also criticized Israel’s privacy law for tackling today’s online challenges.
“Privacy is like health or air — we don’t really feel the need for it until we really see how much of it we lack,” she said.
Israel at Dizengoff Center Mall, Tel Aviv, September 13, 2021. (Miriam Ulster / FLASH90)
While public awareness of privacy rights has been slow, he said many corporations were realizing that better privacy practices made for good business.
“No one wants to be caught off-guard,” said Matarasso Karpel.
Companies are starting to see privacy “as a value that must be maintained to establish trust with customers,” she said.
Mine’s co-founder Ringel said companies had approached his firm for help with the “challenging and cumbersome” process of finding and deleting information commensurate with the right to be forgotten.
“We help companies automate that process without any human involvement,” he said, downplaying their efforts and costs.
Gal Ringel, co-founder and CEO of Israeli company ‘Mine’, speaks with a colleague at his office in Tel Aviv on April 26, 2022 (JACK GUEZ/AFP)
But lawyer Omar Tene, co-founder of the Israel Tech Policy Institute, cautioned that removing specific individual requests was “a complicated technical exercise”.
Some companies and organizations cannot legally delete information such as blockchain or records of financial interactions that are required for tax purposes.
Even information that can be removed is often kept to varying degrees of identity, Tene said.
“All these nuances make it difficult to deliver on promises, both on the consumer side and the corporate side, to be removed at the push of a button,” warns Tene.
We’re Telling a Critical Story
Israel is now a major player on the world stage far beyond its size. As diplomatic correspondent for The Times of Israel, I am well aware that Israel’s security, strategy and national interests are always under scrutiny and have serious implications.
Accurately conveying the story of Israel requires balance, determination, and wisdom, and I come to work every day with the aim of doing it perfectly.
Financial support from readers like you Allows me to visit both the war (I just returned from reporting in Ukraine) and the signing of historical agreements. And it enables The Times of Israel to be the go-to place for readers around the world for accurate news stories about Israel’s relationship with the world.
If it is important to you that independent, fact-based coverage of Israel’s role in the world exists and flourishes, I urge you to support our work. Will you be joining the Times of Israel community today?
Thanks,
Lazar Burmandiplomatic correspondent
Yes I Will Yes I Will Already A Member? Sign in to stop watching
you are a devoted reader
We are really glad you read X Times of Israel article in the last month.
That’s why we started The Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world to discerning readers like you.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we have not imposed any paywall. But as the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to join us in helping Times of Israel Community
For as little as $6 per month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel ad freesimultaneous access exclusive content Available only to members of the Times of Israel community.
Thanks,
David Horowitz, founding editor of The Times of Israel
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY JOIN OUR COMMUNITY Already a member? Sign in to stop watching
