False Information Online: Govt Must Ensure Operators Take Effective Countermeasures

Editorial

15:00 JST, July 17, 2024

The spread online of false information cannot be left unchecked. The government should develop a system to ensure that tech giants thoroughly implement effective countermeasures.

A panel of experts with the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has compiled a draft report calling for tech giants and other companies that operate social media platforms to take prompt actions, including deleting posts, to prevent the spread of incorrect information and disinformation online.

In addition to deleting posts and suspending the accounts of those who repeatedly transmit false information and disinformation, the draft report also calls for the creation of new standards for handling such posts.

The panel further requests that social media operators set up a contact point to receive reports from government agencies and others about illegal posts, and promptly decide whether to delete them.

Until now, the government has left the handling of false information and disinformation to the voluntary efforts of social media operators, such as the U.S. company Meta Platform, Inc., which operates Facebook, and X Corp., formerly Twitter.

However, the spread of incorrect information and disinformation as well as fake ads is a situation that cannot be overlooked. The government must take the initiative in strengthening countermeasures.

After the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January, false posts on social media claiming that people were stuck in collapsed houses and requests for rescue from nonexistent places confused the police and fire departments.

A video that appears to have been doctored from footage of a tsunami from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake was distributed as if it was damage caused by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

At the time, the ministry requested social media operators to take appropriate measures, such as deleting the posts, but the false information could not be sufficiently eliminated due to the lack of a legal basis.

The government needs to develop specific measures to ensure that operators take effective actions, based on the draft report, as it has been argued that Japan has not received sufficient cooperation on this issue from the U.S. tech giants.

Regarding the slander and defamation of individuals, the law on dealing with platforms for the distribution of information obliges operators to promptly delete inappropriate postings at the request of the victim. A highly effective system must be considered also for false information and disinformation.

“Freedom of expression” must be respected while preventing the spread of false information and disinformation, but harming the public interest is not acceptable.

The European Union’s Digital Services Act, which went into force in 2022, requires tech giants to take prompt actions on fake information. The EU announced in April it will launch an investigation into Meta. Japan can follow in the footsteps of the EU, which is ahead of other countries in regulating tech giants.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 17, 2024)