Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission is considering nixing a prior consent requirement when obtaining sensitive personal information for the development of artificial intelligence.
The move by the government agency is intended to make it easier for AI-related businesses to utilize personal information. The personal information protection law is reviewed every three years.
“In light of the creation and development of new industries, a study is being made while balancing the protection of personal rights and interests and the utilization of personal information,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a news conference on Friday.
Under the law, information such as race, social status, medical history and any criminal record is designated as sensitive personal information, and obtaining such information requires prior consent from the individuals concerned.
AI development relies on such systems absorbing vast volumes of data to increase the accuracy of projections and analyses. If the data contain sensitive information, the developer must take measures such as gaining consent or removing such information from the data.
In June 2023, the commission warned OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGPT generative AI tool, not to collect sensitive personal information without obtaining prior consent from people concerned.
However, many operators say it is very difficult to find sensitive personal information from massive amounts of data and take necessary measures.
In response to these complaints, the commission closely examined information requiring prior consent and concluded that such consent is unnecessary for obtaining and using results of analysis, such as AI’s learning data, which is believed to rarely involve the risk of personal rights and interests being violated.
The committee is also considering imposing fines on those violating the personal information protection law. But some in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the business community strongly oppose the idea of a penalty, which they say will hamper free economic activities.
The government may submit a bill that would amend the law including the easing of the prior consent rule and the introduction of the fines to the ongoing regular parliamentary session, which is currently scheduled to run until late June. At this point, however, it remains unclear if the bill will be submitted.
Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/02/23/japan/crime-legal/personal-info-law-revision-ai/
