Japan is moving to significantly ease regulations on the use of personal information for artificial intelligence (AI) development. Under the planned changes, sensitive personal data such as medical history, criminal records, race, and beliefs could be used for AI training without the individual's consent, provided certain conditions are met.
According to Kyodo News and other local media on Tuesday, Japan's House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act containing these provisions at a plenary session that day.
The amendment allows information disclosed on social networking services (SNS) and personal information held by companies to be used without the individual's consent, or provided to third parties, for purposes such as statistical analysis or AI development where the data owner cannot be identified.
The scope of usable information includes not only medical history and criminal records but also sensitive personal data such as race and beliefs. The existing Personal Information Protection Act had required, in principle, obtaining the individual's consent when acquiring such sensitive information.
The Japanese government cited the difficulty of obtaining individual consent for every piece of information as the reason for the revision, given that AI model development requires the collection of large-scale data.
The amendment also includes penalty provisions to prevent the misuse of personal information. Companies that improperly acquire or use the personal information of 1,000 or more individuals can be fined an amount equivalent to the profits gained from such use.
The amendment was passed with the support of ruling parties including the Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai, along with the Democratic Party for the People. The Centrist Reform Coalition and the Sanseito party opposed the bill.
Opponents expressed concern that providing consumer personal information to a wide range of businesses, including sole proprietors, could increase the risk of information leaks and misuse. They also pointed to the absence of provisions for a class-action system that would allow consumer groups to demand the suspension of personal information use on behalf of individuals.
Kyodo News projected that the bill is likely to receive final approval during the current Diet session after deliberation in the House of Councillors.
At the same plenary session, the House of Representatives also passed a related amendment that would make it easier for the private sector to utilize data, including personal information, held by the state.
