The Japanese experience in combating online disinformation: an approach in evolution

Abstract

Disinformation has a negative effect over the health of democracies. The present paper proposes to investigate how the discussion on a possible regulatory model of disinformation in Japan has taken place, what measures have been adopted, and their results. The goal is to present the debate and initiatives that took place outside the American-European axis traditionally studied in Brazil. Measures adopted or debated in Japan from 2018 to 2023 were studied, having as a starting point the formation, in 2018, of a research group by the Japanese government with the objective of studying and countering disinformation on the internet and examining the impacts of social networks and technologies such as big data, the internet of things and artificial intelligence. At first this group adopted a position contrary to state regulation, expressing concern about a possible chilling effect and raising doubts about the effectiveness of said regulation, defending instead the adoption of voluntary measures by the private sector. In a second moment, given the limited adoption of transparency measures and disinformation countermeasures by the sector, Japan is beginning to course the adoption of a more active posture by the government.