# Attaining Safe, Secure ICT Utilization Environment and R&D Strategy

## Section 1 Big Data utilization and personal data

### 1. Potential and problems of personal data utilization and distribution

## (1) Current state and potential of personal data utilization and distribution

Personal data utilization has made rapid progress in various areas in Japan and other countries. In line with future technological development, new highly convenient personal data services are expected to emerge in the future.

As far as the disclosure of personal data to relevant persons, the obtainment of consent from specific persons to the utilization of their personal data and the use of anonymity technologies are appropriately implemented, personal data may be utilized with no privacy infringement problems being caused.

## (2) Systems and initiatives for personal data utilization and distribution

### a. Enactment of Personal Information Protection Act

The Act on the Protection of Personal Information (Law No. 57 of 2003) (hereinafter referred to as the Personal Information Protection Act) was enacted in May 2003 and took effect in April 2005. Simultaneously, the Act on the Protection of Personal Information Held by Administrative Organs and the Act on the Protection of Personal Information Held by Independent Administrative Agencies, etc. were enacted and implemented. In April 2004, the Cabinet made a decision on the Basic Policy on the Protection of Personal Information based on the Personal Information Protection Act.

### b. MIC initiatives

In response to the full implementation of the Personal Information Protection Act, the MIC revised the Guidelines for Protection of Personal Information in the Telecommunications Business released in 1991 and established the Guidelines for Protection of Personal Information of Broadcast Receivers, the Guidelines for Personal Information Protection in the Postal Service Field and the Guidelines for Personal Information Pro-

## tection in the Corresponding Delivery Service Field

The MIC initiated a panel on problems regarding ICT services based on the viewpoint of users in April 2009 and provided proposals on personal data protection.

## (3) Challenges for promoting appropriate utilization and distribution of personal data

### a. Handling user information in smartphones

Smartphones are linked to their users more strongly than personal computers because users carry smartphones that remain switched on and connected with networks. Users’ actions and communication history and other data are made available through smartphones. Since around the summer of 2011, many media reports have emerged on cases where the handling of user information in smartphones became controversial, leading smartphone users to become interested in the matter.

### b. Challenges for utilization of personal data in Japan

The utilization of personal data causes privacy problems when data are linked strongly to specific persons. Difficult problems regarding how to handle personal data are highly likely to emerge when it is difficult to decide how strong the linkage of personal data with specific persons is in the course of personal data utilization and distribution.

In the secondary and tertiary utilization of personal data, particularly, the linkage of these data with specific persons, though weak in the primary utilization, could grow stronger with more information accumulated and analyzed to allow these persons to be identified. In such case, it may be difficult to decide whether the utilization could run counter to privacy rules. Since secondary or tertiary users alone have difficulties in obtaining relevant persons' consent to the utilization, the overall mechanism for the utilization of personal data must be designed to secure the appropriate handling of data.

### 2. International comparison of personal data users' consciousness of data treatment

## (1) Perceptions about personal data handling

Personal data that should be protected might have different degrees of privacy, ranging from names that are usually published to information that relevant persons would like to keep unavailable to other persons.

In a survey on personal data users' perceptions, respondents were asked about how they perceive personal data subject to protection. Personal data were then divided into three groups – (1) ordinary personal data (personal data with a lower degree of privacy), (2) per-