Japan plans to implement strengthened policies that oversee foreign technology companies through same communication privacy rules which govern its domestic companies as its response to a series of personal data breaches worldwide.
On Monday, a panel of experts from the communications ministry suggested expanding the country's telecommunications law to foreign businesses noting the threat that they pose to the public. Japan's tech market is dominated by search engines operators and social media platforms based from other countries. The current telecommunications law exempts many tech giants including Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon.com from privacy provisions.
The suggestion followed the growing concerns globally that the tech companies lack transparency in their use of personal location, shopping, and other data. Recently, many countries have started their own steps to control tech companies' data use. In late 2018, Austria announced that they are planning to impose a tech tax on companies such as apple. The move followed Bruno Le Marie, French Minister of Economy and Finance announced that the country will be imposing a GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon) tax.
Because of the exemption, the ministry has no way to impose penalties or take administrative actions against any of the foreign groups if a data breach occurs under their supervision. Japan is also powerless in determining the extent of the damages that the breach might incur.
Under the proposed change in the policy, non-Japanese companies will be subjected to the secrecy in communications clause stipulated under Article 21 of the country's constitution. The service providers need the permission of the user to know the content of any communication or its destination. The new provision will also apply to local tech players like Tencent Holdings.
Another government panel highlighted previously that a person's personal information has the same value with money and both raises anti-trust issues. The panel's advice aims to prevent companies both local and foreign from abusing the power they get from their gathered data. Foreign tech companies are also advised to station some agents in Japan.
The panel plans to finalize the draft of the policy by June and it is bound to be submitted to a special commission under the ministry's Information and Communications Council at the aim of revising the telecommunications law in 2020.
In 2018, the Japanese government compiled a basic policy that regulated global tech giants. The country's Fair Trade Commission is planning to investigate the tech giants over the antimonopoly law.
