JapanAct on Regulation on Soliciting Children by Using Opposite Sex Introducing Service on Internet
Act No. 83 of 2003, as amended by Act No. 52 of 2008, Arts. 2, 6-17, 31-37
In force.
A social media and minors rule binding private bodies.
- Enforcement body
- prefectural Public Safety Commission (koan iinkai)
- Audit expectation
- on_request
- Who audits it
- Regulator
- Where the report goes
- Produced on request
What it requires
- Applies to operators of internet dating (opposite sex introduction) services that relay correspondence between strangers seeking romantic or sexual contact; a child is a person under 18.
- Notify the National Public Safety Commission before starting the business.
- Display and communicate a notice that children may not use the service.
- Before relaying a person's information to another user or letting two users exchange contact details, confirm in advance, as National Public Safety Commission rules provide, that the person is not a child, unless your own prior identity-confirmation procedure already covers that person.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
Article 31 punishes violation of a business-suspension or closure order with imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to JPY 1,000,000, or both. Article 32 punishes operating without the required notification, breaching the Article 9 duty, or violating an administrative instruction, with imprisonment up to six months or a fine up to JPY 1,000,000.
Penalty structure
Article 31 (violating a business-suspension or closure order) carries imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to this cap, or both. Article 32 (unregistered operation, breach of the Article 9 safety-measures duty, or violation of an administrative instruction) carries imprisonment up to six months or a fine up to this cap. A separate, lower fine of up to JPY 300,000 attaches under Article 34 to a false or missing business notification, and Article 35 fines the operating company the same amount as an individual employee or agent convicted under Articles 31, 32, or 34.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- JPY
- Fixed cap
- 1,000,000
What it reaches
Age threshold
18
Covered services
internet dating and opposite-sex introduction services that relay correspondence between strangers seeking romantic or sexual contact
Obligation class
Age verification, Disclosure, Licensing
What it makes you log
Who may demand the log
Regulator
Logging duty
No clause names a log or a retention period; the duty is implicit because the operator must be able to answer a demand for reports or materials about the Article 11 confirmation. The notification of the confirmation method sits in Article 7 and the child-protection offences in Articles 6 and 31 to 34.
- Kind
- Implicit
- As of
- Provision
- Act No. 83 of 2003, Arts. 11 and 16: the operator must confirm, by the method set by National Public Safety Commission rules, that each user is not a child, and the Public Safety Commission may require it to submit reports or materials on its business, which covers the age confirmations
- Trigger
- age_assurance
What this law does
A child under this Act is a person under 18 (Art. 2(1)). An internet dating (opposite sex introduction) service operator must, per National Public Safety Commission rule and in advance, confirm that a person seeking correspondence is not a child before relaying that person's information to another user or letting the two exchange contact details, unless the operator's own prior identity-confirmation procedure already covers that person (Art. 11).
The operator must also display and communicate a notice that children may not use the service (Arts. 9-10) and must notify the National Public Safety Commission before starting the business (Art. 7(1)). The prefectural Public Safety Commission may direct an operator that breaches the Act to correct the breach (Art. 13) and may order a suspension of up to six months, or a closure, for specified further violations (Art. 14).
Violating a suspension or closure order carries imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to JPY 1,000,000, or both (Art. 31). Operating without the required notification, breaching the Art. 9 duty, or violating an Art. 13 or Art. 15(2)(i) instruction carries imprisonment up to six months or a fine up to JPY 1,000,000 (Art. 32).
A false or missing notification under Art. 7 carries a fine up to JPY 300,000 (Art. 34), and a company is fined the same amount as its employee or agent under the dual-liability rule (Art. 35). The sections this entry groups came into force on different days.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app operates a social platform.
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