Japanese Filtering Regulations Could Hamper Off-Deck Industry
By James Quintana Pearce - Fri 25 Jan 2008 04:52 AM PST
Japan is one of the countries looking to filter the mobile internet “for the sake of the children”, and Infinita has some details of the proposed regulations: “As well as typical adult content like gambling and inappropriate flesh it will also block access to “anything that enables communications between users, such as the ultra-popular gaming and social networking site mobagetown and the mobile versions of mixi, bulletin boards like 2ch.net and dating sites”. DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM) and KDDI have set the age limit at 20 (the “full legal age” in Japan) and are taking a blacklist approach, while Softbank has set the age limit at 18 but is taking a whitelist approach. As well as preventing access to social and community features—which are now becoming widely seen as the biggest advantage mobile has—the system also has implications for off-portal content. There’s a growing trend away from the carrier portal, especially amongst young people in Japan, and this is hampering that. Infinita goes into some details as to why this isn’t as big a problem as it first appears, but it’s still a problem. (via Wireless Watch Japan).
Posted in: Countries, Asia, Japan, Legal, Regulatory, Social Media
