Breaking News: The Japanese Personal Information Protection Commission Orders the Operator of 'Bankruptcy Map' to Cease Operations

On November 2, 2022, the Japanese Personal Information Protection Commission issued a cease and desist order to the operator of the “Bankruptcy Map”, accusing them of illegally publishing the personal data of numerous bankrupt individuals.

What is the Bankruptcy Map?

The “Bankruptcy Map” is a tool that plots and publicly displays the personal information, such as names and addresses, of numerous bankrupt individuals on Google Maps. The so-called “New Bankruptcy Map,” which garnered attention in June 2022, reportedly features information on bankrupt individuals published in the Official Gazette from 2009 to 2019 (Heisei 21 to Reiwa 1).

To have the posted information removed, a payment in Bitcoin equivalent to 60,000 to 120,000 yen is required.

Although the Personal Information Protection Commission issued a cease and desist advisory to the site in July 2022, the operator did not comply, leading to the issuance of this cease and desist order.

Related article: Personal information from the Bankruptcy Map on 5chan! Explaining the issues and how to delete[ja]

Reasons for the Personal Information Protection Commission’s Issuance of a Suspension Order

The Japanese Personal Information Protection Commission has cited the following reasons for issuing a suspension order:

• There is a risk of inducing financial and personal discrimination against the individual in question (Violation of Article 19 of the Japanese Personal Information Protection Act)
• The purpose of using the personal information obtained was not promptly notified or made public to the individual (Violation of Article 21, Paragraph 1 of the same Act)
• Personal data is made available for viewing by an unspecified number of people on the Internet, and personal data is being provided to third parties without obtaining the individual’s consent in advance (Violation of Article 27, Paragraph 1 of the same Act)

In addition, it is also cited as a reason that the personal information of these bankrupt individuals and others is being continuously provided in a manner that can be easily viewed by an unspecified number of people, and it is recognized that “a large number of bankrupt individuals and others are at risk of being subjected to personal and discriminatory treatment, and a serious infringement of individual rights and interests is imminent.”

Summary

This website uses a service with servers located overseas, and the operator cannot be identified. Therefore, like the recommendation in July, this order is being carried out by “public notice delivery,” which is considered to have delivered the written notice.

According to the Japanese Personal Information Protection Commission, if the operator continues to illegally publish without complying with the order, they will proceed with criminal prosecution.

Japanese Personal Information Protection Commission | Administrative measures based on the Act on the Protection of Personal Information against businesses illegally handling personal information of bankrupt persons, etc. (November 2, Reiwa 4 (2022))[ja]

Introduction to Our Firm’s Measures

Monolith Law Office is a legal office with extensive experience in both IT, particularly the internet, and law. In recent years, information related to reputational damage and defamation spread on the internet has been causing serious harm as a “digital tattoo”. Our firm provides solutions for dealing with these “digital tattoos”. Details are provided in the article below.

Areas of practice at Monolith Law Office: Digital Tattoo[ja]