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Japan's top court orders Twitter to delete posts on man's past arrest

37 Comments

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Japanese government do not trust the citizen of Japan,too sit in judgement of others citizen legal affairs

2 ( +13 / -11 )

He must have connections

11 ( +17 / -6 )

Tanaka added that he believed similar standards would be adopted on social media and other websites in the future, providing "relief to those troubled by their digital tattoos," referring to the semi-permanency of information disseminated online.

Nice antiquated thinking by the lawyer.

Elon Musk, get on this!

7 ( +17 / -10 )

The incident had become less relevant in terms of public interest

The incident has become more relevant and of public interest now though hasn't it !

15 ( +18 / -3 )

Another good reason for Japanese women to stay single. If you can't engage in adequate due diligence, you should walk away.

6 ( +13 / -7 )

The plaintiff was fined after being arrested in 2012 for trespassing into the women's changing room of a bathhouse at an inn.

Yucky

13 ( +16 / -3 )

with a woman he was dating cutting contact with him after he told her his name.

BS. She probably cut contact with him because he seemed like some weirdo who was hesitant to reveal his own name to her, not because she found his name and tried a search on every SNS to see if there was some dirt on him.

Look, perverts, if you did something the past, you have to own it. People make mistakes. You can’t erase it, but you should damn well reflect on your past and own it. Many people accept that others have made mistakes, and show forgiveness.

So anyway, what is Japan gonna do here. Fine or ban Twitter, as if this is China?

19 ( +25 / -6 )

The point of contention in this case was whether the same standards should apply to Twitter even if it does not have the same level of information infrastructure as Google.

That's the very key for this ruling.

So anyway, what is Japan gonna do here. Fine or ban Twitter, as if this is China?

Japan will likely align itself with the EU over the common policy framework on the right to be forgotten. But a new privacy legislation is necessary.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Does Japan top court really know what Twitter is?

8 ( +14 / -6 )

If the court decides to expunge his record, then I'd be in agreement. If they don't expunge it, then there are ramifications for poor behavior in society.

Having twitter remove sexually related news stories is a mistake. In other countries, any sexually related arrest places one on a sexual offenders list which follows you around the rest of your life, requiring that you register with local police departments, sometimes tell your neighbors about that arrest and restricts where you can live (not near schools or daycare businesses).

https://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/nsor/faq.htm

Frequently Asked Questions: New York State’s Sex Offender Registry

How long does a sex offender stay on the Registry?

Level 1 offenders (low risk) must register for 20 years, unless they have a designation (e.g. sexual predator, sexually violent offender, or predicate sex offender) in which case they must register for life. Level 2 offenders (moderate risk) and Level 3 offenders (high risk) must register for life. More information.

With a name, it is possible for anyone to lookup sexual offenders in any state or nationally.

5 ( +11 / -6 )

Wonder how long before this leads to deleting of tweets that criticize politicians or the government in general.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

The twitter posters can easily get around this by posting information on the man's convictions, penalties, and acquittals, no?

An arrest is merely a very early stage in a legal process. The outcome of this process is the important thing.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I wish that Twitter would just disappear

4 ( +10 / -6 )

Legal request FAQs

https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-legal-faqs

it will be interesting to how Twiiter responds to this Supreme Court's Second Petty Bench unanimous ruling ordering the removal of published posts, a microblogging service, and a private US based company.

The court in question many have jurisdiction, however in the above FAQs there are strict defined limits that determine what is clearly stated as legal requests.

Removal requests – Twitter sometimes receives legal requests alleging that content posted to Twitter may be illegal in one or more countries around the world. For example, content may be alleged to violate laws related to defamation, illegal activities, or national security.

Look with respect , I suspect the Supreme Court's Second Petty Bench lacks a basic understanding of the nuances relating to the social media (platform) content.

I would not be surprised if Twiiter refuses to comply or simply ignores the order.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

As a researcher, if information is deleted Willy nilly, it makes it hard to find facts, only opinions.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Facts on Twitter? Oh my . . .

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Japanese courts are becoming increasingly sensitive to privacy concerns. It seems the 5th judge didn't even want his picture taken.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Japan's top court orders Twitter to delete posts

welcome to Japan not knowing how the internet works

4 ( +11 / -7 )

Good luck enforcing that one...

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Now his name is off Twitter but all over the net....

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Feels like this government is having an identity crisis

1 ( +3 / -2 )

M3M3M3Today  10:40 am JST

Japanese courts are becoming increasingly sensitive to privacy concerns. It seems the 5th judge didn't even want his picture taken.

Best to read the article;

"...four judges on the Supreme Court's Second Petty Bench unanimously ruled..."

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Social media can best be described as a digital lynch mob for cowards.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

it is possible for anyone to lookup sexual offenders in any state or nationally.

According to Wikipedia, the US is the only country that allows public access to sex offenders registers.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The article is silent as to whether this person was convicted of the crime (more examples of sloppy reporting by Kyodo and brainless reprinting by JT). If he was convicted, it's tantamount to being a sex offender depending on his motive for entering the changing room (again sloppily not reported) and in many countries sex offenders must register with the local authorities and there is no time limitation on registering. As someone else, noted, he must have connections. Can a Twitter user post about Tanaka's arrest in the Lockheed scandal?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Was he a former LDP politician?

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

As a researcher, if information is deleted Willy nilly, it makes it hard to find facts, only opinions.

We were taught never to trust nor confirm things posted on the internet, without non-Internet proof first. I'd never trust anything on Twitter or any other social network. It is bad enough when reputable news articles try to be engaging by quoting twitter posts. Nothing has me ignore an article quicker.

Social network quotes is where people get gossip, not facts.

Anyone dumb enough to use their real name on social media deserves what they get.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

CEOB55

Today 04:38 pm JST

The article is silent as to whether this person was convicted of the crime (more examples of sloppy reporting ....

It helps if you read the article in full

The plaintiff was fined after being arrested in 2012 for trespassing into the women's changing room of a bathhouse at an inn.

If he was given a fine it is because he was found guilty.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

A friend of mine was arrested in Japan on suspicion of commiting a serious offence. Of course, all the media gossips and the rats that post to Twitter had a field day naming, shaming and condemning him. But, after a long investigation he was charged with nothing and released as he wasn't guilty.

But, because of the internet retaining information of his arrest he's been fired from two jobs, and has consequently found it difficult to get on with the rest of his life. I've been helping him try to get some of the filth written about him removed from different websites. But it's a long, tiring process.

So, before you all rush to judgement. Just hope it never happens to you. There does need to be rules on publishing the names of arrested people before they are even charged, and found guilty. Laws need to be introduced to prevent the sick, online gossips from ruining people's lives. And online news sites keeping their news stories available indefinitely.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

"It is difficult to accept that (the tweets) were meant to be viewed for a long time," the top court said, noting that the posts were apparently aimed at delivering a breaking news story on his arrest by citing news articles that are no longer available online.

So his arrest record in Japan has already been erased?

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Anything on the internet,is their for ever,if someone archived a post

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

 after a long investigation he was charged with nothing and released as he wasn't guilty.

The problem - as illustrated by this article - is the Japanese obsession with arrests, and then ignoring the rest of the process, ie, was the suspect acquitted, prosecuted or were charges stayed, etc.. The media, public, companies and govt are all guilty of this. People are fired and have their careers ruined immediately after a warrant is served.

The postwar Americans forced the Japanese to adopt the principle of innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately, this didn't stick.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

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