What is Privacy Awareness Week?
Each year, the members of Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) set a"Privacy Awareness Week" to raise awareness of privacy and protection of personal information.
As a member of APPA, the Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan celebrates Privacy Awareness Week, and intensify its effort to raise awareness about the importance of personal information.
Privacy Awareness Week 2021
Message from the Chairperson of the PPC Japan
The Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan (PPC Japan) designates 18th to 24th October 2021 as this year’s Privacy Awareness Week, and intensify its effort to raise awareness about the importance of personal information. As a member of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA), the PPC Japan has been celebrating Privacy Awareness Week every year since 2018.
The COVID -19 pandemic has changed our daily lives drastically, and we spend more time at home. Through online shopping or participating online events, I believe we use personal information online more than ever before recently.
The Internet is quite useful and enriches our daily lives, but we always need to be mindful and careful not to, for example, -sign up for a membership or e-mail magazine to get the best deals on online shopping, for instance. -use a user name with information such as your name and birthday when participating to an online event where many people can see your user name. -post other people’s information on SNS without their permission.
While the Internet and SNS are convenient and easy to use with a smartphone or computer, once personal information is posted, it is extremely difficult to completely delete it as information can travel very far in no time.
When children are using SNS or play online games, they might post their own or their friends’ name, school names, or photos that show their addresses, without really realizing the consequence. I invite you to take a moment to discuss and set some rules to use online sites with your family such as involving adults when children use online services.
Personal information, when used appropriately, can make our lives more convenient and enriching. I would like to ask you once again to keep in mind the appropriate handling of personal information.
If you have any questions about the protection of Personal Information, come explore our website for further information, or contact us at Inquiry Line.
I hope the Privacy Awareness Week will help you to reflect and think about your privacy and handling of personal information.
Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission
Mieko TANNO
Awareness Rising Activities during Privacy Awareness Week
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- Posters (at local government offices)
- Digital signage (at major train stations)
- Advertisement at Convenience Stores
- Advertisement via SNS
- Follow PPC Japan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/PPC_JPN
Do you handle personal information appropriately?
These days, due to COVID-19 pandemic, we see more and more people are using conference tools for remote work, online schooling, etc., and with many services going online, there are many more opportunities for people of all ages to handle personal information. While these services can be easily used by anyone with a smartphone or computer, there is an increasing number of unexpected problems caused by a lack of knowledge about personal information or proper handling of personal information. It is a matter of course for business operators handling personal information t comply with the Act on Protection of Personal Information (APPI), it is also important for individuals, to whom the APPI does not directly apply, to handle personal information with care. On this occasion, we hope that the following examples will deepen your understanding about proper handling of personal information.
[ Let's take a look at some actual cases! ]
[Case 1]
I got a phone call asking my friend's phone number. I almost gave her the number without confirming if could do so with my friend.
- [Watch Out!]
- Your friends might not feel comfortable about the situation where their information such as phone number are being shared without their knowledge. Your friends may be annoyed or get into trouble because of that. Be mindful not to give out someone’s personal information to the others without his/her permission.
(Note: If you are a business operator handling personal information, then in principle, you need to obtain the consent of the individual in advance to provide personal data to a third party.)
[Case 2]
I almost posted a photo/video that I took in my room on SNS without carefully checking what was in the picture.
- [Watch Out!]
- Photos/videos may contain various information that casn be used to identify an individual. Faces, names, addresses, phone numbers, email addressses, IDs for various services, and location information contained in the image data can be used to identify you, and in some cases it may get you into trouble. Photos/videos may also contain personal information about other people, so be careful not to leak any personal information. Once it is out there on the Internet, it is extreamly difficult to completely delete the images etc. Be very careful not to post any items online without examining them carefully.
[Case 3]
I usually tick the box for privacy policy or terms of use when using some servicies, without actually reading them carefully.
- [Watch Out!]
- The Privacy Policy, etc., describes how the company will handle presonal information you entered. Be sure to read it through and check how your personal information will be handled in the privacy policy before resistering/using the service. When you are no longer using the service, delete the registered personal information by cancelling your membership.
Amendment of the Act on Protection of Pesrsonal Information
“The Amend Act on the Protection of Personal Information” promulgated on 12 June 2020 will fully come into force on 1st April l2022.
For more information about 2020 Amended APPI, click here
The amendment of the APPI reflecting the act on the formation of digital society, promulgated in 19 May 2021, will consolidates the rules on the handling of personal information by the public organs and local governments which are currently stipulated in separate laws and ordinances, and centralize the entire jurisdiction of the protection of personal information under the PPC Japan.
For more information about 2021 Amended APPI, click here
Ensuring Appropriate Handling of Personal Information (Servicies offered by the PPC Japan)
For Business Operators
- Dispatching lecturers to workshops held by business operators We dispatch lecturers to training sessions hosted by business operators to promote understanding of personal data protection system.
- Distribution of easy-to-understand brochures
- Public Notices
We update information on issues such as data security, personal data protection, social security number (“My number”), on regular basis to increase awareness.
- Case examples of “near-miss” incidents when handling personal information
We provide examples of minor incidents that could have led to data breach.
For those who create membership lists
- We distribute brochures summarizing useful tips when making a membership list.
For Children
- We distribute Handbooks and videos “Everyone’s important personal information.”
We introduce the importance of personal information based on a familiar scenario for children.
- Classes for elementary school students.
The staff members of the Secretariat of the Personal Information Protection Committee will give classes using the handbooks and videos mentioned above.