Possibilities for Internet regulation in Japan

At the end of last year, Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released a report outlining recommendations for the control of Internet content. In an effort to curb the availability of a range of undesirable content, the report advises government intervention. Though it does not specifically cite filtering as a mechanism of such control, it is among the range of possibilities.

In a special to the Japan Times, Chris Salzberg provides an insightful analysis of some of the implications of these recommendations. He writes:

Before the days of YouTube, "broadcast" was a term relegated in Japan to the transmission of television and radio, an area dominated by NHK and major commercial TV and radio stations. Legislation of broadcast media historically strives to balance freedom of expression with the welfare of society as a whole.

Communication, on the other hand, historically meant point-to-point transmission via devices such as telephones. Legislation of this area prioritizes privacy and prohibition of censorship, aspects of communication critical at the level of the individual.

What happens, then, when the boundary between "broadcast" and "communication" becomes technologically obsolete?

He continues, explaining that the report attempts to deal with this issue, defining ways that different types of Internet content could fall under the purview of legislation of these two areas. As is often the case, however, this gets problematic in the free-flowing space of Internet content. Traditional media laws that regulate how content is presented to the public are a logical place to start when a government looks to control content on the Internet, but their fair application is often difficult, and can result in over, under, or inconsistent control.