How does the government deal with gigantic information technology companies that have increased their control of the market while collecting huge amounts of private information? The government needs to accelerate the process of setting relevant rules based on the reality of technological innovation.
The government has compiled fundamental principles on regulations covering those IT firms.
The principles set out a policy of strengthening the regulations. They state, "There is concern that ambiguity in the rules and the system might result in a profusion of unfair trade practices and invasions of privacy."
What the government apparently has in mind are the U.S. firms -- Google Inc., Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. -- that are collectively known as GAFA.
Although the four companies have been providing convenient services to their customers, they have also been making steady progress in their oligopolization in the market. It is reasonable that the government aims to create a fairer environment.
The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, the Fair Trade Commission and the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry will become the core members that will begin examining the details. Cooperation among them must be enhanced, and bureaucratic sectionalism must be avoided.
There have been many cases in which businesses that have opened online stores in the markets operated by those major IT firms were forced to hand over excessive amounts of commission fees or were forced to accept unilateral modifications of their contracts. The fundamental principles clearly state a policy of requiring the firms to disclose important rules and trade conditions to the public.
Protect private information
The principles also include the establishment of a monitoring organization consisting of lawyers and experts in information engineering. When a case that is highly likely to be held illegal is detected, it will be reported to the Fair Trade Commission and other organizations. It is important to create a sound system.
The principles also include flexible implementation of the antimonopoly law, and the move is worth paying attention to.
The antimonopoly law prohibits abuse of a superior bargaining position, and the government has applied the clause basically in trade between companies. The government will begin examining whether the clause is applicable to contracts concluded between major IT firms and individuals.
This is based on a government decision that the provision of information by individuals in exchange for using services provided by the IT firms can be considered "trade."
It may be possible to apply the antimonopoly law in cases in which customers' personal data are exposed while they are unaware of it, arguing that the IT firms inflict disadvantages on their customers.
Legal points of debate regarding whether the law is applicable to those cases must be studied further as soon as possible.
Under the current Private Information Protection Law, it is impossible to levy a fine on overseas firms when they violate the law. It is essential to deal with those challenges.
The judicial authorities of the District of Columbia in the United States filed a lawsuit against Facebook in connection with a case of improperly exposing private information of up to 87 million people, seeking measures such as compensation to the users affected by the exposure.
Pressure against the huge IT firms has been strengthened in the world. The government needs to closely cooperate with the EU, which is leading the movement to tighten regulations on those firms, as well as with other major countries and regions.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 29, 2018)
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