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'Right to be forgotten' comes to Japan

Chris Hamblin, Editor, Editor, London, 10 February 2015

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A recent court case has brought Google in Japan to the same impasse over personal data that it has reached in the European Union.

A judge in Tokyo's district court has granted an injunction against Google in Japan's first 'right to be forgotten' case, which could have 'know your customer' implications for compliance departments. The case that led to the injunction hinged on a member of the public's wish to quash ancient Internet rumours that he broke the law. The text is not yet available.

There is a direct clash between the 'right to be forgotten' which the European Union imposed so spectacularly on Google last year and the efficiency of Net searches for personal data, especially that which may be used for the targeted provision of financial services. Taisuke Kimoto of Reed Smith has written: "Japanese business appears not to have taken advantage of the opportunities created from [big] data, such as geolocation, radio frequency identification, web logs, and online targeted advertising. [A government] working group suggests that one of the reasons why such development has not been as great as it could be relates to concerns about privacy and data protection."

These concerns sometimes centre around the Personal Information Protection Act, which the Government is revising to make it more business-friendly. 'Big Data' consists of large amounts of data sent to and collected from personal computers, smartphones, car navigation systems which discloses information about customers' preferences.

Another way out of the rut, the working group has suggested, is to offer consumers more choice about what information can be disclosed.

In the meantime, Japan has blazed away with a Basic Act of Cybersecurity which imposes onerous new requirements on various companies - it is unknown whether banks are included but all vital 'infrastructural' companies are - and so are cybersecurity companies that are expected to meld their efforts seamlessly into the government's plans, in the usual Japanese fashion.

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