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Online Privacy Protection in Japan: The Current Status and Practices
Abstract
This chapter explores the current status and practices of online privacy protection in Japan. Since the concept of privacy in Japan is different from that in western countries, the background of online privacy concepts and control mechanisms are discussed. The chapter then introduces Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information along with the privacy protection system in Japan. Following the discussion of the privacy law, Japan's privacy protection mechanisms to support and implement the new act are examined. To help companies make smooth adjustments and transitions, a four-stage privacy protection solution model is presented. Further, this chapter discusses two case studies to exemplify the problems and dilemmas encountered by two Japanese enterprises. The cases are analyzed and their implications are discussed. The chapter is concluded with future trends and research directions.
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What is the most general common set of
attributes that characterises something as
intrinsically valuable
and hence as subject to some moral respect, and
without which something would rightly be
considered intrinsically worthless or even positively
unworthy and therefore rightly to be
disrespected in itself? This
paper develops and supports the thesis that the
minimal condition of possibility of an entity's
least intrinsic value is to be identified with its
ontological status as an information object.
All entities, even when interpreted as only clusters of
information, still have a minimal moral worth
qua information objects and so may deserve to be respected. The
paper is organised into four main sections.
Section 1 models moral action as an information system
using the object-oriented programming
methodology (OOP). Section 2 addresses the question of what
role the several components constituting the
moral system can have in an ethical analysis. If they
can play only an instrumental role, then
Computer Ethics (CE) is probably bound to remain at most a
practical, field-dependent, applied or
professional ethics. However, Computer Ethics can give rise to a
macroethical approach, namely Information
Ethics (IE), if one can show that ethical concern should be
extended to include not only human, animal or
biological entities, but also information objects. The
following two sections show how this minimalist
level of analysis can be achieved. Section 3 provides an
axiological analysis of information objects. It
criticises the Kantian approach to the concept of
intrinsic value and shows that it can be
improved by using the methodology introduced in the first section.
The solution of the Kantian problem prompts the
reformulation of the key question concerning
the moral worth of an entity: what is the
intrinsic value of x qua an object constituted by its
inherited attributes? In answering this
question, it is argued that entities
can share different observable properties
depending on the level of abstraction adopted,
and that it is still possible to speak of moral value even at the
highest level of ontological abstraction
represented by the informational analysis. Section 4 develops a
minimalist axiology based on the concept of
information object. It further supports IE's position by
addressing five objections that may undermine
its acceptability.
It is sometimes suggested thatthere is no conception of privacy in Japan orthat, if there is, it is completely differentfrom Western conceptions of privacy. If thiswere so, finding common ground between Japanand the West on which to establish privacypolicies for the internet would be extremelydifficult if not impossible. In this paper wedelineate some of the distinctive differencesin privacy practices in Japan, but we maintainthat these differences do not prevent theestablishment of sound, shared, ethicalinformation privacy policies. We distinguishbetween a minimal conception of privacy that webelieve is shared by Japan and other societiesand richer conceptions of privacy that oftenreflect patterns of behavior distinctive ofparticular cultures. Although Japan and othersocieties share at least a minimal sense ofprivacy, a base on which to build, robustprivacy protection will not exist on theinternet until an internationally accepted richsense of privacy is developed.
The increasing use of personal information on Web-based applications can result in unexpected disclosures. Consumers often have only the stated Web site policies as a guide to how their information is used, and thus on which to base their browsing and transaction decisions. However, each policy is different, and it is difficult—if not impossible—for the average user to compare and comprehend these policies. This paper presents a taxonomy of privacy requirements for Web sites. Using goal-mining, the extraction of pre-requirements goals from post-requirements text artefacts, we analysed an initial set of Internet privacy policies to develop the taxonomy. This taxonomy was then validated during a second goal extraction exercise, involving privacy policies from a range of health care related Web sites. This validation effort enabled further refinement to the taxonomy, culminating in two classes of privacy requirements: protection goals and vulnerabilities. Protection goals express the desired protection of consumer privacy rights, whereas vulnerabilities describe requirements that potentially threaten consumer privacy. The identified taxonomy categories are useful for analysing implicit internal conflicts within privacy policies, the corresponding Web sites, and their manner of operation. These categories can be used by Web site designers to reduce Web site privacy vulnerabilities and ensure that their stated and actual policies are consistent with each other. The same categories can be used by customers to evaluate and understand policies and their limitations. Additionally, the policies have potential use by third-party evaluators of site policies and conflicts.
This paper deals with intercultural aspects of privacy, particularly with regard to important differences between Japanese
and the Western views. This paper is based on our discussions with Rafael Capurro – a dialogue now represented by two separate
but closely interrelated articles. The companion paper is broadly focused on the cultural and historical backgrounds of the
concepts of privacy and individualism in “Western” worlds; our main theme focuses on different concepts of privacy in Japan
and their sources in related aspects of Japanese culture. The interrelationship between our two papers is apparent in our
taking up identical or similar topics in each paper. Reading our two papers in conjunction with each other will bring about
deeper and broader insights into the diverse values and worldviews of Japan and Western cultures that underlie concepts of
privacy that at a surface level appear to be similar
This paper deals with intercultural aspects of privacy, particularly with regard to differences between Japanese and Western
conceptions. It starts with a reconstruction of the genealogy of Western subjectivity and human dignity as the basic assumptions
underlying Western views on privacy. An analysis of the Western concept of informational privacy is presented. The Japanese
topic of ‘‘denial of self” (Musi) as well as the concepts of Seken, Shakai and Ikai (as analyzed by the authors of the companion piece on privacy in Japan) give rise to intercultural comparisons. The paper
addresses the question of privacy in cyberspace and mass media. Finally the question of freedom of speech is related to the
Japanese concepts of Ohyake and Watakusi.
While the growth of business-to-consumer electronic commerce seems phenomenal in recent years, several studies suggest that a large number of individuals using the Internet have serious privacy concerns, and that winning public trust is the primary hurdle to continued growth in e-commerce. This research investigated the relative importance, when purchasing goods and services over the Web, of four common trust indices (i.e. (1) third party privacy seals, (2) privacy statements, (3) third party security seals, and (4) security features). The results indicate consumers valued security features significantly more than the three other trust indices. We also investigated the relationship between these trust indices and the consumer's perceptions of a marketer's trustworthiness. The findings indicate that consumers' ratings of trustworthiness of Web merchants did not parallel experts' evaluation of sites' use of the trust indices. This study also examined the extent to which consumers are willing to provide private information to electronic and land merchants. The results revealed that when making the decision to provide private information, consumers rely on their perceptions of trustworthiness irrespective of whether the merchant is electronic only or land and electronic. Finally, we investigated the relative importance of three types of Web attributes: security, privacy and pleasure features (convenience, ease of use, cosmetics). Privacy and security features were of lesser importance than pleasure features when considering consumers' intention to purchase. A discussion of the implications of these results and an agenda for future research are provided.
The U.S. government and commercial sector have opted to use privacy regulations to control the problem of consumer information misuse in the E-business environment. the authors argue that this is undesirable because it does not correct the market failure that causes this “information externality.” Using the Coase theorem, the authors propose that the market failure can be corrected using either property rules or liability rules and that liability rules at a federal level are likely to be most socially efficient. Recommendations for voluntary actions by industries and companies are also provided.
A considerable research stream in information systems security has elaborated several propositions as to how privacy and anonymity can be protected, the most prominent of which make use of encryption and digital signing. Since privacy protection is a persistent topic in most electronically performed activities, the icreasing popularity of Internet has driven researchers to approach privacy protection in a holistic way. As a result, privacy-enhancing technologies have been put forth, aiming at protecting users against privacy and anonymity threats and vulnerabilities. Nowadays, that privacy protection has to be incorporated in most IT applications is one of the least controversial statements. This paper describes Privacy Protector, a technological means for enhancing privacy in an IT application development process. Privacy Protector comprises of a set of software services that have been built upon generic, privacy-focused user requirements. The paper also describes an API that can be used for incorporating Privacy Protector in the development framework of an IT application.
In pervasive environments, privacy is likely to be a major issue for users, and users will want to be notified of potential data capture. To provide notice to users, this paper argues for what it calls labeling protocols, technical mechanisms through which users can be informed of data requests and their consequences. Recent experiences with the Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P), an attempt to provide privacy mechanisms for the Web, suggest important lessons for the design of a next generation labeling protocol that will be usable and useful in pervasive environments. This paper examines the P3P lessons and open issues with an eye to pervasive requirements. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45919/1/779_2004_Article_305.pdf
Internet privacy concern has also prompted the U.S. government to threaten regulation if the Internet industry is unsuccessful in regulating itself. In several well-publicized events in 1998, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made it clear that its patience is running out with industry efforts to self-regulate privacy practices. TRUSTe is a non-profit, privacy seal program for Web sites dedicated to building consumers' trust and confidence on the Internet, and in so doing, accelerating the growth of the Internet. In displaying the TRUSTe trustmark, Web sites send a clear signal to users that they've openly agreed to disclose their information gathering and dissemination practices, and that their disclosure is backed by credible third-party assurance. In summary, TRUSTe's goal is to have a program that addresses both user and government privacy concerns by providing a cost-effective privacy solution to Web publishers.
The threats posed to customer privacy by JetBlue's privacy policy and the methods to support policy compliance in an affort to avoid policy breaches are discussed. JetBlue violated its privacy policy by disclosing customer information to third parties without informing its customers. Contractual relationships complexities and disclaimers buried in the middle of privacy policies undermine the ability of consumers to make informed privacy choices. It was suggested that organizations should use privacy policy specification templates or wizards to avoid JetBlue's weaknesses and to ensure third-party compliance with their policies.