[Ecommerce] Computer Processed Personal Data Protection Act

[Takeshi Muramoto]

Yes, this bill  partly cover the privacy concern.

In Japan, the Law of Fundamental Resident Registers was revised in 1999, and
the fundamental resident register network which share data, such as a name
and the address, in a country and a local self-governing body was built,
too. This time enactment is based on the circumstance.

The bill wrote clearly "Don't hold more than the range required for
achievement for the purpose of use", when a governmental agency held
personal information. Moreover, the bill also provided the system where
disclosure of the information about itself could be charged, in order that a
citizen might check to see what information the governmental agency is
collecting. When this claim is performed from a citizen, a governmental
agency has to indicate except for the case where there is a possibility that
the safety of a country may be injured etc. Correction can be charged when
the disclosed information differs from the fact. The disclosed information
is not acquired lawfully, a citizen can charge a use stop.

When a citizen files a complaint to the determination of a governmental
agency to these claims, questioning information disclosure and a
protection-of-personal-information examination panel also set the
governmental agency.

The governmental agency Act for Protection of Computer Processed Personal
Data held by Administrative Organs proposal, which the government submitted
to former Parliament in March, 2002, did not stipulate penal-regulations
regulation when the personnel of a governmental agency provide a third
person with information or collect personal information using authority
regardless of a job.

This bill turned into a rejected bill by the extraordinary Diet session of
the autumn of 2002, and the government performed the amendment including
addition of penal regulations, and presented the National Diet now. The
background for having added penal regulations to the bill was supposed to be
based on the problem on which it was revealed that the Defense Agency
created the information disclosure claimant list secretly in May, 2002.

However, Japan Federation of Bar Associations lodge some complaints to the
draft of Law as follows because this bill has inadequate protection of the
personal information which a governmental agency holds. It is not especially
the privacy protection system of people required as a precondition of
enforcement of a basic resident register network system. Moreover, there is
criticism from the bar association that restriction of principle prohibition
of on-line combination, use purpose outside, etc., jurisdiction, etc. need
to be corrected.

> Tekeshi and all,
>
>   Too bad I don't read Japanese very well.  Is there a english version
> of this URL around?  In any event I have been getting news from
> several of our members in Japan in this regard, and I see implications
> with ICANN and Whois data here.  Does this bill cover that
> side of the privacy concern?  Please advise.
>