# Protecting Information and Communications Users

### 1. Consumer Administration in Telecommunications Services

It is thought that the main cause of trouble concerning contracts between telecommunications carriers and consumers, such as contracts relating to DSL or IP phones, is often the fact that consumers conclude the contract without fully understanding the content of the telecommunications service because, for example, the explanation by the carrier is difficult to understand. Therefore, the Telecommunications Business Law was revised in the 156th session of the Diet to newly establish accountability. The amendment stipulates that a carrier or agent must explain the content to the consumer at the time of concluding a contract and that a carrier must accurately and promptly deal with any complaint or inquiry from a consumer.

Also, toward improvement of the situation concerning spam mail (unsolicited e-mail), as well as orders to take treatment and other enforcement of the “Law on Regulation of Transmission of Specified Electronic Mail” and other legislation, the MPHPT is making efforts to promote voluntary responses by carriers and increased awareness among users.

Furthermore, as countermeasures against illegal and harmful contents, the MPHPT is providing assistance to business groups on the formulation of related guidelines and conducting a publicity campaign so that the “Law on Restrictions on the Liability for Damages of Specified Telecommunications Service Providers and the Right to Demand Disclosure of Identity Information of the Sender” (so-called the Law Concerning the Liability of Internet Service Provider) can be properly operated.

### 2. Promoting Measures for Information Security and Privacy Protection

## (1) Strengthening public-private cooperation toward the ensuring of information security, etc

In order to promote countermeasures relating to responses at the time of outbreak of incidents involving the violation of information security and liaison and cooperation between the public and private sectors, including the gathering and analysis of information on security violations that abuse information and communications networks and obstruct the supply of diverse IT services and the protection of and cooperation among networks through the sharing of the results of analysis among members, Telecom-ISAC Japan was established in July 2002 by three business groups and seven telecommunications carriers. In order to detect the outbreak of incidents as early as possible and prevent the escalation of damage caused by information security violations, Telecom-ISAC Japan has begun research and development and the construction of a setup with the aim of building a wide-area monitoring system for the swift detection of proliferating incidents.

From fiscal 2003 Telecom-ISAC Japan is building a database for the collection and active preservation of computer viruses and so on and a test bed of mock networks for related research and is scheduled to establish a setup for speedy response to emergency situations caused by the outbreak of a virus and a setup for the joint use of the said test bed by outside researchers.

## (2) Research and development relating to secure operating systems

In fiscal 2003 the MPHPT implemented an objective and impartial evaluation of the merits and demerits of open-source operating systems and non-open-source operating systems from various perspectives, including security, operation, and cost, with the aim of contributing to studies on the introduction of open-source operating systems for e-government and e-local government. As a result of this evaluation, it was proposed that since an OS that is best for all information systems does not exist, in the building and operation of each information system, a study of the information security countermeasures that should be taken should be made prior to system procurement and that selecting the best OS for each system through a method of comprehensive evaluation would be most appropriate.

## (3) Protecting personal information in the information and communications field

Regarding the protection of personal information that covers all fields in a comprehensive manner, the government in May 2003 promulgated the Law Concerning the Protection of Personal Information, which will go into full effect in April 2005. Regarding the appropriate handling of personal information in the light of this law, the MPHPT will reach a certain specific conclusion on the handling of personal information in the information and communications field by the time the law goes into full effect, with reference to the discussions and reports of the Study Group Concerning Information Privacy in the Telecommunications Business Field, which has been held since February 2003, and the Study Group on Protecting Personal Information in the Field of Broadcasting and Satellite Broadcasting in the Age of IT, which has been held since May 2004.