Japan's MIC Meeting Demands Preemptive Action on Fake Ads and Defamation, Calls Out Google, Meta for Passive

Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) held an expert meeting on February 27 to discuss online issues such as fake advertisements, defamation, and youth protection, and summarized demands for SNS operators. The meeting proposed preemptive measures such as warnings before the posting and spread of harmful information, while avoiding excessive restrictions. Based on the Information Distribution Platform Act, the MIC will inspect operators and discuss legal revisions.

The meeting pointed out that rights violations are expanding and individual post-event remedies are limited, and will discuss a mechanism for administrative authorities to grasp the actual situation. The law requires large operators with an average of more than 10 million monthly users to deal with inappropriate posts and disclose their response status. Operators are in a favorable position regarding service modifications and data use, and are passive in information disclosure. Some committee members named Google, X, Meta, and Dwango at the meeting.

In digital advertising, fake advertisements impersonating celebrities to induce fraud are rampant, age-restricted sexual content ads are frequently displayed, and misleading ad designs have become a social problem. Online information is protected by the constitution. The Democratic Party for the People (DPP) submitted a bill to revise the Youth Internet Environment Act, aiming to prevent harmful ads from reaching youth, but it has sparked strong opposition due to vague targets and standards.