A revised Japanese law aimed at facilitating the swift removal of defamatory content on social media platforms came into effect on Tuesday, mandating operators to set up clear points of contact for accepting requests for deletion.
The information distribution platform law, formerly known as the provider liability limitation law, will strengthen measures against online defamation, and oblige platforms including Facebook and X to develop and disclose their criteria for removing posts.
Many defamation victims have found deletion rules unclear and struggled to find a point of contact when seeking to have such posts promptly deleted before they spread.
Support for strengthening measures against online defamation gained traction after the suicide in 2020 of Hana Kimura, a professional wrestler and cast member on the then popular Netflix reality show “Terrace House” who had received a barrage of hateful messages on social media.
The enforcement of the law also comes following criticism that the Hyogo gubernatorial election in November, in which Motohiko Saito was reelected after being previously removed as governor over accusations of abuse of power against staff, was swayed by the proliferation of unverified information online.
The law also requires operators to notify people within a specified time frame whether posts will be deleted.
The operators can remove defamatory posts if there is no opposition within seven days of their notifying the contributing account. The time frame is reduced to two days for posts concerning elections.
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