A group of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers plans to compile a proposal urging the government to ban social networking services such as TikTok if they are used for disinformation campaigns. The proposed ban aims to prevent harm to society caused by such campaigns. Norihiro Nakayama, a senior member of the lawmakers’ group, emphasized the need for clarity on data handling whenever concerns are raised. Nakayama suggested that making it clear that operations can be halted will help keep app operators in check and lead to a sense of security for users. TikTok is a major concern for many governments around the world, with many US lawmakers calling on the Biden administration to ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app due to concerns over data collection, content censorship, and harm to children’s mental health.
Recent weeks have seen a series of Western governments and institutions, including the UK parliament, Dutch and Belgian administrations, and New Zealand parliament, ban TikTok due to concerns over data collection, content censorship, and harm to children’s mental health. Now, a group of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers plans to compile a proposal next month urging the government to ban social networking services such as TikTok if they are used for disinformation campaigns.
Norihiro Nakayama, a senior member of a ruling party lawmakers’ group looking into ways to enhance Japan’s economic security, emphasized that the proposal would not target any particular platform. Instead, if it is verified that an app has been intentionally used by a certain party of a certain country for their influence operations with malice, promptly halting the service should be considered.
In Japan, the use of TikTok and other social networking services (SNSs) is already prohibited on government devices that handle confidential information. Nakayama said further restrictions should only be considered after examining their data-handling and other operations.
The proposed ban aims to prevent disinformation campaigns, which can cause significant harm to society. Making it clear that operations can be halted will help keep app operators in check and lead to a sense of security for users.
Many US lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app, TikTok, alleging that the app could be used for disinformation campaigns, content censorship, and harm to children’s mental health.
Although Nakayama did not mention any particular social networking services, TikTok is a major concern for many governments around the world. With over 17 million users in Japan alone, halting the service will result in a significant impact on users.
In conclusion, the proposed ban on TikTok and other social networking services in Japan, if used for disinformation campaigns, aims to prevent harm to society. Such a ban will keep app operators in check, lead to a sense of security for users, and prevent disinformation campaigns that can have significant negative effects.
Japanese Lawmaker Emphasizes the Need for Clarity on Data Handling
Norihiro Nakayama, a senior member of Japan’s ruling party lawmakers’ group, has emphasized the need for clarity on data handling whenever concerns are raised. “I believe we first need to make it possible for people outside to firmly grasp how data is being handled whenever concerns are raised,” Nakayama said.
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