Patent ID: 8332908

Claim:
A personal information management device that communicates with another personal information management device, comprising: a personal information storage device that stores a first policy with respect to handling of personal information, the first policy including information indicating shared personal information and a condition in which the shared personal information can be used, for each of shared users of the personal information management device and the another personal information management device; a third policy storage device that communicates with the another personal information management device that stores the personal information including the shared personal information and a second policy indicating a condition in which the shared personal information can be used for each of the shared users and provides services using the personal information by executing the second policy, the third policy storage device communicating a third policy indicating a condition in which the shared personal information can be used and storing the communicated third policy; a change request reception device that receives a change request that requests to change, with respect to a policy corresponding to one of the shared users, a condition in which the shared personal information of the one of the shared users can be used; a policy update device that updates, in response to the change request received by the change request reception device, the first policy stored in said personal information storage device based on the change request to obtain a new policy of the shared user related to the change request; and a policy transmission device that compares the new policy with the third policy of the shared user related to the change request stored in the third policy storage device, determines whether or not there is a first condition in which shared personal information of the shared user related to the change request cannot be used in the new policy but can be used in the second policy being executed by the another personal-information management device, that creates, when there is the first condition, a policy change request including a request to change a first policy so that the shared personal information cannot be used under the first condition, and that transmits the policy change request to said another personal information management device.