Japan OKs rules on social media in elections to maintain fairness
The law requires platforms to curb false candidate posts and adds AI disclosure rules, while leaving companies without penalties for noncompliance.
- On Monday, Japan's Parliament enacted a law tightening election social media rules, requiring disclosure of AI-generated content and prohibiting the spread of false information about candidates to ensure electoral fairness.
- These revisions address concerns regarding social media's distorting effects on elections, following allegations of AI-generated content used to smear candidates in the 2025 Liberal Democratic Party leadership contest and February elections.
- The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will establish guidelines for platform operators, requiring annual disclosure of implementation measures such as displaying warning notices or prioritizing information from trustworthy sources.
- Unlike the European Union, which imposes fines under its Digital Services Act, Japan's law lacks penalties for non-compliance, prompting pundits to question the effectiveness of these measures in ensuring platform accountability.
- The government aims to enforce these changes by March 1, 2027, ahead of spring unified local elections, which are expected to be the next major democratic event on the political calendar in Japan.
15 Articles
15 Articles
On Monday, the Parliament of Japan passed legislation which obliges social media platforms to take measures to combat misinformation and other harmful content related to elections, with the aim of preserving the integrity of the electoral process.
The regulation, which comes into force in March and also prohibits the dissemination of false data on candidates, follows several defamation campaigns with 'deepfakes' resources in the February legislation
Malay Mail
AlKhaleej TodayWatch what you post: Japan tightens social media rules for elections
TOKYO, July 14 — AI-generated images and videos will have to be marked as such under new rules on the use of social media during elections in Japan, the internal affairs minister said today.The new rules, approved by parliament yesterday and which will take effect in March, also forbid internet users and platforms from spreading fake or distorted information about candidates.“We believe that this is extremely important from the perspective of en…
New rules are coming into effect in Japan that will require images and videos generated by artificial intelligence on social media during elections to be labeled accordingly, the interior minister said on Tuesday.
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