Originator Profile to Verify Online Information Sources

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, December 11, 2025

A symposium on the effectiveness of Originator Profile (OP), a digital technology being developed to make online spaces safer, was recently held at Keio University’s Mita Campus in Minato Ward, Tokyo.

OP allows internet users to verify the originator or publisher of a piece of online content.

The event was held on Oct. 27 and centered around the theme of creating healthy spaces on the internet. It was jointly organized by Keio University’s X Dignity Center and the Originator Profile Collaborative Innovation Partnership (OPCIP), an association of entities such as newspaper and media companies.

Experts exchanged opinions during a panel discussion on the current conditions of cyberspace and issues related to it, like the fact that it is flooded with disinformation and misinformation. Researchers at the OPCIP and government officials in posts connected to information and communications also gave presentations on the role OP is expected to play, among other topics.

OP is a technology that enables users to confirm the authenticity of online articles and advertisements by electronically embedding each piece of content with source information confirmed by third-party entities. This allows users to confirm the content’s originator or publisher and that the information in it has not been altered.

The OPCIP has been moving forward with the development of OP in hopes of implementing the technology by the end of March 2026.

The pillars of OP are the “core profile,” which includes data such as the attribution information of the originator or publisher, as well as their editing standards, and “annotations,” indicating that relevant information was verified by a third party.

When a newspaper company distributes an article to a news site, it will come with information indicating that a third party has verified that the article was created in accordance with company and industry editorial guidelines and that the purported source company actually exists. This information will be protected by an electronic key.

Users will be able to confirm the information by clicking on an “OP” mark in their browser to make it appear, along with details clarifying the reliability of the originator or publisher.

The technology is expected to be used by such entities as newspaper and other media companies, local governments, financial institutions and general corporations. It is expected to also be used in the digital advertising field, which faces serious problems in addressing damage caused by scams, including those involving impersonations of celebrities.

Having been chosen by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry through an open call for projects to support the development of technologies to counter disinformation and misinformation on the internet in fiscal 2024 and 2025, OP has received support from the government as a technology originating in Japan.

Expectations for OP are also high among local governments: Tottori Prefecture has been participating in an experimental project for the technology since fiscal 2024.

The OPCIP also aims to achieve international standardization of the technology. In January last year, the association became an official member of the World Wide Web Consortium, the international organization that sets standards for the web.

“We aim to achieve international standardization of OP so that it can spread globally,” said OPCIP’s secretary general, Tatsuya Kurosaka, who is also a project associate professor at Keio University.

Social responsibility to tackle the problem

The following is excerpted from a keynote speech by Jun Murai, chief director of the Originator Profile Collaborative Innovation Partnership and a professor at Keio University.

I have participated in building up the internet from a very early stage. Looking back at its history, the number of internet users in 1995 accounted for less than 1% of the world’s population. Thirty years have passed since then, and the current percentage has risen to about 70% worldwide. As systems for safe communication with coded information were introduced, the internet now supports the economy.

Cyberspace has sustainably developed through “open standards” that anybody can use free of charge, the “autonomous-decentralized system,” in which your computers are connected like chains, and “internet governance,” in which concerned people discuss their responsibilities.

But there have always been people who abuse excellent technologies, and finding ways to secure trustworthiness in the media has become an issue. One of the possible approaches for solving this is OP, and I want to implement it as a global standard function in the web, which is the public infrastructure of the internet.

Now that almost everyone uses the internet, there is a social responsibility to devise ways to make internet spaces healthy. If technologies (including OP) can resolve something, we shall resolve those issues with them, and we shall clear hurdles related to education, literacy and legal measures in our society. Policies, society and technologies need to work together for creating healthy internet spaces.

As an antonym of “abuse,” the expression “ethical use” is often used. Also, it is said that “ethics” are important to the future of the internet. Being ethical also has an important meaning in Japanese philosophy. Therefore, I believe that Japan should make efforts to make the internet spaces healthy in a responsible manner.

W3C pursues standardization

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international nonprofit organization established in 1994 for standardizing web technologies.

More than 350 companies and organizations, including the big tech companies known collectively as GAFAM, other major companies, governmental organizations and the Originator Profile Collaborative Innovation Partnership, participate in it and are leading developments and implementation of the standardization. More than 14,700 researchers are participating in the initiative.

One thing W3C has standardized is Passkeys, which is a technology to secure higher-level safety with which users log in by using facial or fingerprint authentication, instead of inputting passwords. Anybody can use such standardized technologies.

Panel sees role for OP in showing reliable sources to promote ‘informational health’

Excerpts of the panel discussion are presented below. The panel’s experts were Hidemi Suzuki, a professor emeritus at Keio University and a specially appointed professor at Kokushikan University; Eijiro Mizutani, an associate professor at Keio University; Yuya Shibuya, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo; and Tatsuhiko Yamamoto, a Keio University professor serving as moderator.

Yamamoto: The attention economy — a business model in which human attention is monetized for economic benefit — has created challenges in cyberspace. What do you suggest that users do to make rational choices when obtaining information on the internet?

Suzuki: One option is to create legal regulations that require highly reliable information to be made conspicuous. But making regulations like that effective would be challenging. In that sense, technical solutions, like verifying sources through OP, might offer greater efficacy than legal regulations.

Yamamoto: It can be said that there is too much content available online but not enough information about it that can be used to judge its authenticity.

Mizutani: There are two important factors in that regard. First, technologies like OP should be used to direct public attention toward accurate information. That would incentivize disseminators of information to put out accurate information. Second, references, such as who created the content and how it was disseminated, should be displayed. Based on these factors, adequate measures need to be created to achieve “informational health.”

Yamamoto: Criticism of the media is also intense.

Suzuki: Beyond online defamation targeting reporters, people are also interfering at sites where journalists carry out their work, prompting the industry to discuss countermeasures. It is probably necessary to teach citizens about the role of journalism in society, as a type of civic education, and broadening public understanding.

Yamamoto: I had the opportunity to talk with a young influencer who was surprised to learn for the first time about the workflows of the press in which journalists gather information, at the expense of much time and effort, and many others check the content before releasing the stories. While sensational and eye-catching pieces are rampant, to ensure people also obtain information that the press gathers, it is important to make the process of transmitting media reports more transparent while maintaining the balance between doing so and keeping sources anonymous.

Shibuya: In an experiment conducted in the United States, informational pieces made by artificial intelligence were shown to consumers with an alert noting that they were made by AI. Analyzing reactions of the viewers showed that the effects of the notice were differed by whether they were positive or negative in their initial viewpoint regarding AI. Presenting additional information about the origins of the stories alone is not sufficient. Before this, it is important to find ways to secure people’s trust regarding the disseminators of information.

Mizutani: In addition, to guarantee trustworthiness, press organizations should keep a distance from the attention economy. It is probably necessary that they consider how to write articles that can reach people who have feelings of reluctance toward news media reports.