The whereabouts of your unknown data March 23, 19:26
When you are browsing a shopping site, advertisements for related products will be displayed.
A bill to regulate such advertising called "targeting" has been submitted to the Diet.
I don't know how far my browsing history has spread ...
Can regulation dispel such anxiety?
We explored the reality of
our "footprints" running around the internet space .
(Masumi Nagata, Reporter, Ministry of Economic Affairs)
The content of the bill that regulates targeted advertising
The first thing you need to know is the content of the bill.
New rules have been created for website and app operators to provide their browsing history to advertising agencies.
▽ As a general rule, "notify" or "publish" to the user in advance.
▽ The specific "notification" and "publication" will be decided through discussions between the public and private sectors.
With the growing awareness of privacy, such regulations have already been introduced in Europe and the United States, but Japan has finally taken the first step.
However, members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' expert meeting who discussed the content of this regulation have pointed out that the content is not sufficient.
Attorney Ryoji Mori
"There is no doubt that the law should be amended, but it is certain that the debate has receded.
I pointed out that it might have receded too much ..."
Other members of the Council of Experts also said that they would be watered down.
What's wrong?
In the background is the situation in Japan, which they point out as the "information tube omission problem."
When using a website or application, the browsing history is currently sent to advertising companies without the consent of the user.
For this reason, we aimed for strong regulations that are comparable to those in Europe and the United States, and initially we were obliged to obtain the consent of users.
But that didn't really happen.
Ryoji Mori
"We need to first make people aware that we know almost everything we see on our website every day.
Then we see how information is collected and used by society as a whole. I need to go. "
To over 100 businesses
In fact, how "missing" is our browsing history?
We asked Yuichi Ota, a company that is familiar with the actual situation of online advertising and provides privacy protection services, to verify it.
I asked them to analyze the site of a major newspaper company, which reporters often check, with dedicated software.
Then, a list of companies to which information is sent is displayed on the computer screen.
The number is 109 businesses.
It seems that the moment I opened the site, the records I accessed were passed on to these operators.
Wait a minute!
I don't remember permitting it, but why?
What is the purpose of the first place ...!
??
Yuichi Ota
"Most of the destinations are overseas advertising companies.
Since there were no restrictions in Japan, businesses could do whatever they wanted.
There are actually various cases of misuse just because they have not surfaced."
The purpose for advertising companies to collect information is mainly targeted advertising.
When you check running shoes on a shopping site, advertisements for those shoes and clothing of similar brands are displayed on your smartphone.
Advertising companies collaborate with various websites and smartphone apps to collect user browsing history.
The device is identified by a mechanism called cookie or advertisement ID, and information such as what kind of page was viewed on the site, what was purchased in the app, what kind of keyword was entered, etc. are collected across the board and individually. Profiling (computer analyzes features and trends).
And they are displaying ads on their website that make them want to click.
The point is that the more information there is, the more optimal = highly effective content can be displayed for each user.
It is said that the actual state of data that is exchanged invisible is complicated, and it is difficult for even experts to grasp the whole picture.
Yuichi Ota
"Probably even the operator of the site does not know where the data is going.
You can see evidence that the data was sent from the advertising company to another company.
I think the current situation is that various companies collect data and use it without permission. "
Current status of using services at the cost of own data
Of course, the online services that are indispensable for everyday life cannot be achieved without advertisements.
For example, both Facebook and Google operating companies account for more than 90% of their sales.
We use various services such as "Search service", "Map" and "Gmail" provided by Facebook, Instagram and Google for free = free.
Instead, it provides its own data, and the company recovers the cost of the service from the advertising revenue that utilizes the data.
This is the business model of a giant tech company.
In some cases, the data is used for other purposes
However, there are cases where the collected data is used not only for product advertisements but also for other purposes.
It's the 2016 US presidential election.
87 million Facebook user information leaked to "Cambridge Analytica," an election consulting firm that specializes in data analysis.
This company analyzes information such as gender, date of birth, and "likes".
It is said that the target was divided into groups, and for example, voters who liked conspiracy theories with signs of neurosis were displayed with anxious advertisements to induce voting in favor of the Trump camp.
Ryoji Mori
"The database knows everything about the person and can be manipulated.
For example, whether he is mentally stable, what kind of anxiety he has in the future, and so on
. By whispering, you can control your behavior and divide society, for example by voting in elections.
That's why you have to check how information is collected and used from various angles. "
Regulatory debate is finally in Japan
Having experienced such problems, in Europe and the United States, browsing history is regarded as personal information, etc., and transmission to the outside is restricted.
Until now, browsing history was not regarded as personal information in Japan, and there were no handling rules.
Therefore, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications formed a meeting of experts and started discussions on regulations.
Actually, in the material distributed only to the members last December, the phrase "Obtain the consent of the user in principle" was written.
It was the same level as the EU, which obliges sites that try to send browsing history to the outside to obtain the consent of users in advance.
However, in the final report distributed in mid-January, the relevant part was changed to "Notice / Publication in principle".
If you don't need to get the user's consent, you can explain it in a place where the site or application is hard to see.
It is also possible to interpret this.
It seems that there was a fierce opposition from the business community in the background as to why the content of the regulation changed in the process of discussion.
From the end of the year to the beginning of the year, interviews were held with the business community to compile the bill.
Attended were "Keidanren," "Japan Association of Corporate Executives," "New Economic Federation," and "American Chamber of Commerce in Japan," which is a member of major American IT companies.
In each case, he expressed his opposition, saying that if strict regulations were established, "business costs would increase" and "business development would be hindered."
How did the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications respond to the fact that all major economic organizations in Japan and the United States pointed out NO?
An executive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, who was in charge of coordinating the discussion, answered the interview.
Kimura, Chief of Business Policy Division, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
"There are some parts where the positions of the business community and users tend to be in conflict, and we received opinions in various ways this time as well
. I want to aim. I
've been pointed out that it's watered down, but I don't think that way at all. I've
shaped it up from the draft stage, but I think that the core part is maintained and it is a passing score level regulation.
In the future, it is important to actually operate it, and we would like to work closely with the public and private sectors on how to create opportunities for confirmation by users. "
Delays in efforts will affect innovation
Japan has begun to move toward regulation through twists and turns, but overseas platformers are even ahead.
Apple has introduced a mechanism on the iPhone that requires the permission of the person to track the usage history of the app by an intermediary company called an advertising company or data broker.
Google has also announced that it will introduce a similar mechanism on Android smartphones.
Both are movements that voluntarily regulate the collection of information used for targeted advertising.
The industry-leading giant tech companies are looking to rethink their traditional advertising model with a focus on gaining user trust.
Mori points out that if Japan lags behind these moves, it may be difficult to create innovative innovations and services in the IT field.
Ryoji Mori
"Overseas, platformers may be fined hundreds of billions of yen under strict regulations, and the business environment is completely different from Japan.
Overseas, innovation occurs despite being regulated .
In contrast to this, it is necessary to face the reality that global innovation is not easily born in Japan, which is loosely regulated and does not face huge fines. "
The "Revision of the Telecommunications Business Law," which includes restrictions on targeted advertising, will be deliberated in the Diet from April.
If the bill is passed, public and private discussions will begin over the ideal way of "notification / publication" to users.
I think it will be important to discuss in the future whether it will be an effective regulation that allows users to use Internet services with peace of mind, and whether it will be a regulation that will allow the business community to strengthen their own legs.
Reporter of the Ministry of Economic Affairs
Masumi Nagata
Joined in 2012
After working at the Akita and Sapporo stations, he is currently
in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the information and communication industry.