As the problem of slander and slander on the Internet became more serious, it was found that the Ministry of Justice and IT giant Google have decided to strengthen the information sharing system for deleting inappropriate posts.

This is the first time that a Japanese government agency has embarked on concrete measures with a giant IT company called a "platformer."

According to the Ministry of Justice, about 20,000 consultations on online slanders and slander have been sent to the Legal Affairs Bureaus nationwide since 2018 and by October last year.



Of these, the Legal Affairs Bureau requested IT companies such as providers to delete more than 1,200 cases, but about 30% of the cases did not respond to the request, and ensuring effectiveness is an issue.



Under these circumstances, it was found that the Human Rights Bureau of the Ministry of Justice and Google, a major IT company that operates the video posting site "YouTube", have decided to strengthen the information sharing system for deleting inappropriate posts.



Specifically, the Human Rights Bureau participates in the "YouTube" initiative to delete posted videos such as hate speech and harassment together with certified individuals and NGOs, and actively "YouTube" information on inappropriate posts. Will be provided to.



"YouTube" means that the information provided will be prioritized and deleted as necessary, in accordance with our own guidelines.



It is the first time for a Japanese government agency to embark on concrete measures with a giant IT company called a "platformer" on the issue of slander and slander on the Internet, and results are expected.



On the other hand, it has been pointed out that increasing the involvement of government agencies in deleting posts requires caution from the perspective of "freedom of expression," and it will be interesting to see how it will be operated.

Expert "Information disclosure from the perspective of guaranteeing" freedom of expression ""

Ryoji Mori, a lawyer who is familiar with the problem of slander and slander on the Internet, said, "It is good for the government to build a cooperative relationship with individual businesses, and businesses request deletion in order to stop the spread of information that infringes rights. On the other hand, at present, it is insufficient to ensure transparency as to what kind of judgment and posture the Japanese government is requesting the business operator to delete. Therefore, it is necessary to promote information disclosure from the perspective of guaranteeing "freedom of expression."

Measures to delete "YouTube"

The video posting site "YouTube" operated by Google has established its own guidelines to protect users from hate speech and harassment, and posts that violate are deleted based on automatic detection by AI and reports from users. We are taking measures against.



Among these users, posts that may violate the guidelines are frequently reported, and highly reliable individuals, NGOs, and government agencies are certified as "authorized reporters" and YouTube is prioritized for review. To do.



According to Google, these efforts have deleted about 9.3 million videos and shut down about 2 million channels worldwide in the three months since October last year.



The Ministry of Justice is the first Japanese government agency to be recognized as a YouTube "official reporter."