Japan OKs rules on social media in elections to maintain fairness

Japan’s parliament on Monday enacted a bill tightening rules on social media use in elections, seeking to maintain fairness by prohibiting people from spreading false information about candidates and obligating platform operators to limit the impact of such information.

With the increasing use of social media in politics, concerns remain about the effectiveness of the measures, as platform operators will not face any penalties for failing to comply with the new measures outlined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The cross-party bill aims to counter fake online information during election campaigns while protecting freedom of expression and ensuring the availability of accurate information.

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The government aims to enforce the changes by March 1, 2027, ahead of unified local elections in the spring expected to be the next major democratic event in Japan’s political calendar.

The bill, submitted by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, and four opposition parties, passed the House of Councillors.

The changes to the public offices election law and the law on information distribution platforms will also require users to indicate when they have posted images or videos that have been created or modified using artificial intelligence.

The proposed revisions state that internet users must not spread false information about candidates or distort facts in a way that undermines fairness in an election.

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The revisions come amid concerns over the potential distorting effect on Japanese elections of social media, seen as an increasingly important element in campaigning. Pundits say social media strategy played a part in the LDP’s landslide victory in the February election win under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

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The communications ministry will set guidelines for measures by platform operators, with annual disclosures on implementation.

A supplementary resolution accompanying the bill urges the ministry to set out example measures including suspending monetization, prioritizing information based on its trustworthiness such as that from official websites and displaying warning notices to users. /dl

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