How to Delete Posts in a Condominium Community

For many people, purchasing a condominium is a once-in-a-lifetime, high-cost transaction, so potential buyers often seek as much information as possible. To meet this demand, there are sites like the Condominium Community. However, the Condominium Community is an anonymous bulletin board similar in format to 5channel (formerly 2channel), and it’s not uncommon for baseless defamation against condominiums and real estate companies to be posted. In this article, we will explain how to respond to defamation on the Condominium Community site.

What is the Condominium Community Website?

The Condominium Community is a bulletin board site operated by Mikuru Corporation, designed to support those considering purchasing a condominium. It is primarily a forum for buyers and prospective buyers to exchange information about new condominiums, including actual living conditions, sales status, and local area information. It is one of the largest forums of its kind in Japan.

In most cases, the Condominium Community has threads for each individual condominium. Within these threads, there are further sub-threads specifically for prospective buyers (“Consideration Threads”) and contract signers (“Resident Threads”). Additionally, each condominium-specific thread includes an overview of the property and a map. This makes it an extremely useful resource for those considering purchasing a condominium, as they can view a wide range of condominium information at a glance.

Therefore, it is highly likely that prospective condominium buyers will browse the posts on the Condominium Community. Consequently, if defamatory comments about a condominium or real estate agent are posted, it could potentially have a significant impact on the sales of the condominium and the performance of the real estate agent.

What Kind of Reputational Damage Exists in Condominium Communities?

Condominium communities are bulletin boards where anyone can post anonymously without needing to register as a member. Because of this, it is possible for rival companies to maliciously post negative comments about condominiums or real estate companies. For example, defamatory comments such as “The land where Condominium A is built is famously weak. Despite this, it seems that Condominium A has not carried out sufficient ground reinforcement work” could be posted about a condominium. In addition, real estate companies may be subjected to defamation, such as “The salesperson at Company X, which is selling Condominium A, lacks knowledge and only gives incorrect explanations about the building”.

How to Request Removal for Violation of Terms of Use

When defamatory comments are posted on a condominium community, the first thing to consider is to request the operator to remove them on the grounds of violation of the terms of use. To request removal based on a violation of the terms of use, open each thread and click either the “Request Removal” button located at the bottom right of the title on the first screen that appears, or the “Request Removal” button at the bottom right of each post within the thread. This will display the removal request form.

Next, follow the instructions on the removal request form, enter your name, and select the reason and position for the removal request from the dropdown menu. Then, fill in the free description field in detail about the post you want to remove and the reason for it.

Even if the content of a review is true, if it lowers social evaluation, it constitutes defamation. Also, if you write a false review that lowers social evaluation, it constitutes credit defamation, and if you use a public forum like a review to insult, it constitutes insult.

If the removal request is accepted by the operator, a note will be written in the frame where the relevant post was that it has been removed.

The condominium community is a site where removal requests are relatively easily accepted and the response is quick. Therefore, if the post you requested to remove has not been removed after about a week to 10 days, you can judge that the request was not accepted. In this case, you will consider requesting removal through the provisional disposition procedure through the court, which will be described later.

When requesting the removal of a post from the removal request form based on a violation of the terms of use, it is necessary to explain that it violates the post removal standards stipulated in the terms of use of the condominium community. The post removal standards are as follows.

When groundless posts about the earthquake resistance of a condominium are made

For example, what if a post is made about a certain condominium saying, “The land where Condominium A is built is famous for its weak ground. Despite this, it seems that Condominium A has not done sufficient ground reinforcement.” First, if such a post is groundless, it can be said to fall under “The content of the post is significantly different from the facts” among the post removal standards.

However, whether sufficient ground reinforcement has been done or not cannot be easily judged from the exterior and requires technical verification by experts. Therefore, it is difficult for the operator of the condominium community to determine the truth or falsehood of such a post, and it is unlikely that it will be judged to be removed. Therefore, it is desirable to explain the conflict with other post removal standards as a supplement for posts that are difficult to determine the truth or falsehood.

Generally, not doing sufficient ground reinforcement has a significant impact on the safety of the condominium. If viewers have doubts about the safety of the condominium, it could potentially develop into a major issue involving the developer and construction company. Therefore, it can be argued that it falls under “Those that disadvantage this site and other companies or third parties” among the post removal standards.

Also, if you persistently write content suggesting that you should refrain from purchasing the condominium, you could argue that it falls under “Malicious ones that hinder the intention to purchase a property”.

When bad reviews about a real estate company’s salesperson are posted

Next, what about bad reviews about the response of a real estate company’s salesperson, such as “The salesperson of Company X, who is selling Condominium A, lacks knowledge and only gives incorrect explanations about the building”? In this case, if the fact that he gave incorrect explanations is completely false, it can be said that it falls under “Those that significantly defame the honor of an individual or group” and “Those that can be judged to be significantly different from the facts” among the post removal standards.

However, in this case as well, it is impossible for the operator of the condominium community to verify what kind of explanation was given on the spot, so it can be said that it is difficult to determine the truth or falsehood. Therefore, it is conceivable to make a supplementary claim that it falls under “Those that disadvantage this site and other companies or third parties” among the post removal standards. The point that he is giving incorrect explanations about the building is not just a lack of ability of the salesperson, but may violate the obligation to explain important matters stipulated in the Building Lots and Buildings Transaction Business Act. Therefore, it can be said that such a post disadvantages the real estate company where the salesperson works.

However, the operator of the condominium community, on the page titled “Our stance and thoughts on the bulletin board and posting”, encourages direct response rather than removal requests for groundless posts, saying, “The best way to deal with it is to identify yourself as the person in charge of the company and follow up or rebut directly on the bulletin board. There will be no trouble by identifying yourself.” Therefore, in the condominium community, it is difficult to admit deletion from the removal request form for groundless defamation.

Examples of Removal Requests for Illegal Content

One example of a situation where you might request the removal of content on the grounds of illegality is in cases of defamation. Defamation can occur when a specific fact that lowers the social reputation of a person or company is written, and the fact is false. We have explained the requirements for defamation in detail in the following article.

https://monolith.law/reputation/defamation[ja]

As previously mentioned, the post claiming that the salesperson of the real estate company gave a false explanation to the customer could potentially be considered a violation of the obligation to explain important matters under the Japanese Real Estate Business Law (宅建業法). Therefore, such a post can be considered a specific fact that lowers the social reputation of the real estate company. Thus, if the fact that the customer was given a false explanation is completely false, defamation may be established. In such cases where a post is illegal, it is possible not only to request removal on the grounds that it “significantly defames the honor of an individual or group” as defined in the terms of use, but also to request a transmission prevention measure that has the same effect as removal based on the Japanese Provider Liability Law (プロバイダ責任法).

However, the decision on whether or not to remove the content is ultimately up to the operator of the condominium community. As we have repeatedly stated, it is difficult for the operators of the condominium community to determine whether the posted facts are false, making it difficult to make a decision on removal. Therefore, when requesting removal on the grounds of defamation, it is necessary to consider the provisional disposition for removal, which we will explain next.

Removal by Provisional Disposition

A provisional disposition is a temporary legal procedure that differs from formal litigation. Its personalityistic is that it reaches a conclusion faster compared to formal litigation. In the case of a request for post deletion, a decision on whether to delete or not is usually made within 1 to 2 months. If the decision is to delete, the condominium community will comply and remove the post. For more detailed information about provisional dispositions seeking post deletion, please refer to the article below.

https://monolith.law/reputation/provisional-disposition[ja]

Identifying the Poster through Provisional Disposition

There may be cases where the problem is not completely resolved by simply deleting the post. For example, when similar posts are persistently made no matter how many times they are deleted, or when actual damage has already been suffered, such as a decrease in sales due to reputational damage.

In such cases, it is necessary to make a request for disclosure of sender information to identify who is making the posts. Since the request for disclosure of sender information involves highly confidential personal information, it is common for the apartment community side not to easily comply with the disclosure. Therefore, it is advisable to use provisional disposition, a procedure through the court, for the request for disclosure of sender information from the beginning. We explain the details of the request for disclosure of sender information in the following article.

https://monolith.law/reputation/disclosure-of-the-senders-information[ja]

Once the request for disclosure of sender information is approved and the poster is identified, the next step is to make the person who made the problematic post pledge not to do it again, or to make a claim for damages or file a criminal complaint.

https://monolith.law/reputation/mansion-community-specific[ja]

Summary

While condominium communities are a useful resource for prospective buyers seeking information about condominiums, they pose a risk to real estate companies that could be directly affected by sales if they are subjected to defamation. As new condominiums are often sold in a relatively short period of time, it is necessary to act quickly if defamation occurs. In particular, it can be difficult to handle requests for post deletion or disclosure of sender information through provisional dispositions without the assistance of a lawyer, as these procedures require going through the courts. Dealing with online defamation and reputational damage requires specialized knowledge in IT, so it is important to consult with a lawyer who has extensive experience in this field.