Efforts for Regulation on Election Campaign

Parties in the Diet agreed on introducing stricter rule to election campaign using social networking services (SNS). They are going to legislate related law by the end of current session. The rules include imposing the network providers to take measures for diminishing negative impact on election and demanding the posters to explain that their posts are made by artificial intelligence. However, there are some technological difficulties to build a perfect regulation.

The Information Circulation Platform Management Act in 2024 demands major platformers to prevent slanders or defamations in their SNS in election campaign. However, a lot of inappropriate posts appeared in SNS during the campaign period of Lower House election in February 2026. They include fake video of strange dancing by the leaders of Centrist Reform Alliance and artificial applause of an aged woman for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

 

Parties beyond the aisle recognize necessity of further regulation on those fake posts. In the meeting by party representatives at the Diet on May 14th, they shared a consensus to have new legislation to remove those obstacles on fair election campaigning. They discussed a draft submitted by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

 

To platformers, the parties are going to demand to take measures for reducing negative impact by postings which may disturb fair election. The government will make guidelines for the platformers, which include halting earning benefit through the inappropriate postings, prioritizing credible information and detecting AI-made postings and notifying it to the viewers.

 

It is not easy for the government, however, to distinguish proper postings from wrong ones. The parties hope the government to enhance its regulation to the platformers for immediate delete of wrong information. There is an argument, on the other hand, that excessive regulation on postings will violate freedom of expression or commercial activities.

 

The parties also demand the SNS users to notify the viewers that the posting was made by AI, if it is made in that way. There are a lot of SNS users to earn benefit by collecting “likes” for their artificial video, which activities are called “attention economy.” It needed to be sorted out from official campaign of political parties. But the parties avoid imposing penalty on those activities.

 

Campaign through email by supporters will be deregulated. By revision of Public Offices Election Act in 2013, election campaign using SNS was deregulated. But sending emails for voters was allowed only for parties and candidates. The new ruling will enable voters to send email messages to other voters.

 

It is a competition by technology and democracy. It has been argued that fake videos can distort result of national and local elections. Even how the government regulate wrong use of internet, new communication technology always overwhelms that effort. Democratic election depends on how the voters sincerely aspire the truth.

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