Government Starts Survey On AI

Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) announced that it began a survey for search services which use generative artificial intelligence (AI). The survey is based on a concern that some companies on information technology may have been taking advantage of articles of news organizations without permission for the answers to questions from internet users. The commission doubts that some activities may be considered as abuses of dominant position.

General Secretariat of JFTC, Hiroo Iwanari, stated that the commission started a survey on news delivery, which would be following up a past survey. JFTC has released a report in September 2023, which was based on a recognition that users of internet news site were increasing, while readers of newspapers or magazines were declining. The survey found that Google and Yahoo could be included in “influential organizations” when internet users search news contents. The commission recognized necessity of securing an environment for fair trade between news organizations and those tech giants.

 

Regarding that a certain period of time was given to those stakeholders, JFTC decided to have another survey to reconfirm current situation in the trade or improvement in some problems. The commission recognizes that there are some arguments that some companies with information technology have been using AI to provide their users with some information without permission of news organizations.

 

JFTC is going to research how the search engines with generative AI affect competition among news providers. It is expected that the commission will make survey on Google, Microsoft, Perplexity, Line or Yahoo, as well as OpenAI that provides ChatGPT or Anthropic. Some news organizations, Nikkei Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun, have filed lawsuits against Perplexity with unpermitted use of their articles in the answers to its users.

 

JFTC recommended in the report of 2023 that news portal providers should clarify how they chose their news contents for the answers. It warned those providers that it could be recognized as an abuse of dominant position in the trade, if they, taking advantage of its status, chose news contents based on different criteria from which it had been given, and reduced opportunity of publishing news contents of the news organization.

 

Users of generative AI tend to be satisfied with the answers of news portal site and do not refer to original site which provided news contents. Newspapers criticize those kinds of free search, calling them “zero click search.” They argue that those unpermitted use of news contents, which was published with deliberated and costly efforts, would erode fundamental basis of democracy which would stand on facts.

 

“It is indispensable for development of democracy to properly provide the people with news contents,” said the 2023 report, with concern that the consumers would not be able to enjoy news contents with high quality. Old news media and governmental authority on fair trade look to be heading to the same direction.

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