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How Japan Protects Children Online — Without Mass ID Checks (youtube.com)

submitted 2 hours ago by cm0002@libretechni.ca to c/privacy@programming.dev

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Alt link: https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=JaHD9yLY1WY

Japan protects children online very differently to the UK. (Shout out to red rose for the heads up - it was interesting.) While the UK Online Safety Act is driving biometric age verification and platform-based ID checks, Japan has taken another route: mobile carrier filtering enabled by default for under-18s, combined with parental control and digital literacy.

There is no nationwide social media ban in Japan. Instead, age controls typically sit at the telecom/SIM registration layer rather than at individual platforms.

In this video I explain: • Japan’s 2008 Youth Internet Environment framework
• How mobile carriers determine age at SIM registration
• Why filtering is enabled by default for minors
• The parental opt-out (waiver) mechanism
• The privacy trade-offs compared to UK-style age verification
This isn’t “no regulation” — it’s a different regulatory architecture.

Sources:

Nippon.com – Overview of Japan’s youth internet law and filtering model
www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/d01099/

Children and Families Agency (Japan) – Sixth Basic Plan outline (youth internet measures)
www.cfa.go.jp/assets/contents/node/basic_page/fiel…

NTT Docomo – “Request for Not Using Filtering Services” (waiver form example)
www.docomo.ne.jp/english/binary/pdf/support/proced…

The Japan Times – Commentary on social media regulation debate
www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2024/11/28/japan/s…

The Japan Times – Reporting on youth victims and social media concerns
www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/27/japan/crime-l…

If you’re following UK Online Safety Act developments, this comparison shows that “protecting children online” does not automatically require biometric ID checks across platforms — but every model comes with trade-offs.

Let me know in the comments: would you prefer telecom-level filtering, or platform-based age verificatio

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[–] AntiBullyRanger@ani.social 4 points 57 minutes ago* (last edited 52 minutes ago) (1 children)

There’s an error being made here by essayist here: in order to acquire a SIM, you need to 1) divulge your billing details, meaning you have to provide ID. 2) Your ISP totally knows what you're browsing online, and will not hesitate to divulge it to the state. 3) And it is absolutely correct the ISP filters the internet, against your wishes. Tis why there’s homogeneity in political thought, and no other revolutionary thinking outside their rightwing agendas.

So yes, in does UK filtering at the corporate side, in a more surreptitious manner Japanese people don't even question, because there is no outside connections to say North Korean or Cuban information. You would have have to jump to hoops to find them and read their thoughts on matters.

Also, they don't care about privacy. They live “I have nothing to hide” lives without questioning how the state & corporations controls them. This is why everyone has an iphone instead.

[–] eleijeep@piefed.social 1 points 6 minutes ago

All three of the points you list are true in the UK too.

Many UK ISPs and mobile providers will even filter out adult content by default (even for accounts owned by adults) and require you to opt-in to access adult content.

And yet despite this fact, the UK government is still pushing for age verification performed by websites (or the third parties they partner with) when the infrastructure is already there to do the filtering at the ISP level based on who owns the contract.

[–] ExtremeDullard@piefed.social 1 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

They don't make children anymore?

Aging of Japan

[–] dan69@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

While this is true; the safety protocols used to protect children is what’s more relevant.

[–] BillyClark@piefed.social 1 points 1 hour ago

When I lived in Japan a while ago, I knew that their birth rate was low. So I expected to find few pregnant women and few children. But walking around the small city I was in, they seemed to have a fairly normal amount of pregnant women and a normal amount of children.

I suspect that, outside of their big cities, it would be difficult to tell that Japan has a low birth rate unless you're looking at the numbers to find that out specifically.