Japan Communications Ministry Experts Issue Disinformation Report; Recommend Social Media Operators Delete Posts, Strengthen Screening

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, July 18, 2024

Operators of major social media should be urged to establish systems to promptly respond to the spread of disinformation by deleting illegal posts and strengthening their screening processes for online advertisements, according to a draft report compiled on Tuesday.

The draft was compiled by a panel of experts for the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, which is considering measures to deal with disinformation on the internet, and it will be made official after they collect opinions from the public. The ministry will take these into account as they aim to establish a law.

Based on interviews with social media operators, the draft report mentions that, in regard to measures against disinformation, “transparency and accountability are generally inadequate, and efforts [to deal with it] are not sufficient.” It also states that it would be best to request specific countermeasures from the operators, including the development of a counter-disinformation system.

The requirements for disinformation to be addressed by operators include that it contains obvious errors, infringes on the rights of others or is illegal.

Regarding illegal disinformation, the draft says that if a request is received from a governmental agency, the operators should make a prompt decision and provide notification as to whether they will delete the information or not. However, in consideration of freedom of expression, the draft also requests that the administrative agency disclose information such as the contents of the request.

As for users who repeatedly post illegal disinformation, the report requests specific measures be taken, such as deleting their posts or suspending their accounts. In the case of disinformation that is not illegal but has a large social impact, it says that it is appropriate to take measures such as suspending the user’s participation in systems under which they earn revenue based on their number of views.

To address the recent wave of scams involving fake advertisements impersonating celebrities, it also requests that social media operators establish and publicize criteria for screening advertisements, or improve and make transparent existing screening systems.