Source: Japan Today

Japan Today reports that the Japanese government plans to ease legal restrictions on the use of personal information to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence. A draft bill is being considered that would revise the current personal information protection law, enabling third parties to obtain individuals' sensitive information—such as medical history and criminal records—without explicit consent, provided it is used for statistical data generation. This move is designed to provide AI developers with the vast datasets necessary for training robust models, addressing a competitive disadvantage faced by Japanese tech firms.

However, to counterbalance this deregulation, the draft bill introduces stricter penalties for violations. It calls for the introduction of administrative monetary fines to prevent the unlawful acquisition and sale of personal data for profit. Specifically, businesses that unlawfully acquire and sell the personal information of more than a thousand people could be charged an amount equivalent to the profit gained through the misconduct. This provision targets serious human rights violations and aims to deter data brokers from exploiting the relaxed rules.

A government panel has been reviewing the law since 2023, adhering to the requirement for a review every three years. The proposed changes reflect Japan's broader strategy to revitalize its technology sector and integrate AI into its economy while attempting to maintain public trust through targeted enforcement against bad actors.