Teach: Personal Information and Privacy

Personal Information and Privacy

When shopping online or registering for social media, we routinely give our information to companies. How is personal information protected behind the convenience? In this lesson, we will study the basics of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information and individual rights such as privacy and portrait rights.

What Is Personal Information?

The Act on the Protection of Personal Information defines personal information as “information about a living individual that can identify a specific individual through a name, date of birth, or other details.” A name alone, as well as an address or facial photograph, is personal information if it can identify an individual when combined with other information. Codes that can identify an individual by themselves, such as fingerprints, facial-recognition data, My Number, and passport numbers, are called personal identification codes and are included in personal information. Information that may lead to unfair discrimination or prejudice, such as race, beliefs, medical history, and criminal history, is classified as sensitive personal information. Its collection is subject to stricter rules and generally requires the person’s consent.

Rules for Handling Personal Information

Businesses that use personal information for business activities (personal information-handling businesses) have duties including ① specifying the purpose of use as far as possible and notifying or publicizing it, ② not using the information beyond the purpose, ③ managing it safely to prevent leaks, and ④ not providing it to third parties without the person’s consent (restriction on provision to third parties). Individuals have the right to request disclosure, correction, or suspension of use of their information held by a business.

Example When registering as a member of an online shopping site, there is a checkbox saying, “I agree to the terms of use and privacy policy.” The privacy policy states “what purpose the collected information will be used for” and “whether it will be provided to third parties.” This system implements the personal information protection law’s requirement that businesses specify and publicize the purpose of use. Before agreeing carelessly, it is important to develop the habit of checking what information will be used and how.

The Right to Privacy and Portrait Rights

The right to privacy originally developed as the “right not to have one’s private life made public without due cause.” Today, it is understood as the “right to control information about oneself” (the right to control personal information). Although it is not expressly stated in the Constitution, it has been recognized through court precedents. The right not to have one’s face or appearance photographed or published without consent is called a portrait right, while the right protecting the economic value of a famous person’s name or likeness is called the right of publicity. Posting a friend’s photograph on social media without permission may violate portrait rights or privacy rights.

Ways to Protect Your Information

Self-protection is important in addition to institutional protection. There have been actual cases in which a person’s home was identified from location information (geotags) embedded in photographs, or a school was identified from a uniform or buildings in the background. Develop everyday precautions such as setting the public range of social media posts, managing location information, and paying attention to information appearing in posts.

Key Points
  • Personal information is information that can identify a “living individual.” It also includes information that can identify someone when combined with other information.
  • Personal identification codes (My Number, fingerprint data, and so on) and sensitive personal information (medical history, beliefs, and so on) receive especially strong protection.
  • Business duties: specifying the purpose of use, prohibiting use beyond the purpose, safe management, and restricting provision to third parties.
  • The right to privacy developed into the “right to control personal information.”
  • Distinguish portrait rights (the right not to be photographed or published) from the right of publicity (the economic value of a famous person).
  • Posting someone else’s photograph without permission may infringe rights. Obtain the person’s consent before posting.

Practice Questions

  1. State the definition of “personal information” under the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, and explain what “sensitive personal information” is with an example.
  2. Explain how the right to privacy has been reinterpreted from the “right not to have one’s private life made public without due cause” into a modern right.
  3. Using the names of the relevant rights, explain what should be considered before posting a group photograph from a school festival on social media.

Answers and Explanations

  1. Answer: Personal information is information about a living individual that can identify a specific individual through a name, date of birth, or other details (information that can easily be compared with other information to identify someone, and information containing personal identification codes, also qualifies). Sensitive personal information is personal information requiring special care because it may lead to unfair discrimination or prejudice, such as race, beliefs, medical history, and criminal history; its collection generally requires the person’s consent.
    Explanation: The core of the definition is the limitation to a “living individual” and the condition that the person can be identified. Giving at least one example of sensitive personal information is sufficient.
  2. Answer: As information technology has progressed, the right has come to be understood not merely as the right not to have one’s private life made public, but as the “right to decide and manage for oneself to whom and how much information about oneself is disclosed” (the right to control personal information).
    Explanation: In an age when companies and governments handle large amounts of personal data, merely “hiding” information is not enough; the idea of “control” is necessary.
  3. Answer: Because posting the photograph may violate the portrait rights or privacy rights of the people shown, obtain their consent before posting. Also consider the public range and people who do not want to appear, such as by blurring or cropping them.
    Explanation: The key is to use the term “portrait rights” and mention the person’s consent. Paying attention to personal information visible in the background, such as name tags and addresses, is also valuable.

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