"Minors to Be Blocked from SNS?"... Japan Moves to Impose Age and Usage Time Restrictions

Considering Age-Based Filters from Initial Sign-Up
Mandatory Measures to Prevent Harmful Content and Addiction

The Japanese government is moving to introduce regulations to restrict minors' use of social networking services (SNS). Authorities are considering applying age restrictions from the initial stage of use and establishing a new system to assess the risks associated with each service.

Image related to SNS to help understand the article. Pexels

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun and other sources on April 22, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications plans to make it mandatory for SNS operators to implement age restrictions and will prepare specific measures, including legal amendments, by this summer.

The Ministry intends to require major SNS platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and X to implement age-based filtering functions from the time users first access the service. One option under consideration is to verify users' ages by linking authentication information obtained during mobile phone registration with telecommunications and operating system (OS) providers.

Currently, age verification features are often disabled when downloading SNS applications, and there have been ongoing criticisms that the existing 'Act on Development of an Internet Environment for Young People' has low effectiveness.

Accordingly, the Ministry will require each SNS operator to check for the presence of harmful elements to minors within their services, and if risks are identified, to take addiction prevention measures such as restricting access to certain posts, limiting uploads, or setting usage time limits.

In addition, the Ministry is also considering making it mandatory for OS developers such as Apple and Google to provide functions that allow parents to control their children's internet usage. After discussing these matters at an expert meeting on this day, the Ministry plans to compile a report within the month.

Meanwhile, the trend of tightening restrictions on SNS use out of concern for its impact on minors is spreading globally. At the end of last year, Australia became the first country in the world to restrict SNS account access for those under 16, while Brazil and Indonesia also introduced similar measures. In Europe, more than 10 countries—including the UK, France, Germany, and Spain—are reportedly reviewing or pushing ahead with similar regulations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.