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tag:privacy author:nikhil-pahwa before:2024-01-01 "exact phrase" -exclude This article has been cross-posted from MediaNama World. Access the link here to the original article.Japan‘s
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has called for closer scrutiny of how
Google,
LINE Yahoo,
Meta and
TikTok collect and use personal information, particularly through conversational AI, targeted advertising and tracking tools on third-party websites.In its 2026
monitoring report, Japan’s
User Information Working Group found differences in how the four companies use AI conversations, allow users to control their data and explain their
privacy practices. The group finalised its findings after deliberations held from October 19 to 21, 2026.The working group said “It is necessary to check at an early stage” how conversational AI handles personal information for training and advertising.
1. Meta and LINE Yahoo use AI conversations for advertisingThe ministry found that Meta uses conversations with Meta AI involving users aged 18 and above to improve advertising, although it does not display ads inside the chatbot.It said Meta “has made clear that it uses the content of exchanges with Meta AI to optimise advertising”.LINE Yahoo displays advertisements based on users’ AI prompts and was considering using earlier conversations for advertising as of August 2026. Users could not opt out of prompt-based advertising.Google does not use Gemini conversations for targeted ads, although its conversational AI displayed search-related advertisements as of September. TikTok reported no conversational AI advertising or use of AI conversations to personalise ads.The ministry called for continued examination of “advertising delivery and ad personalisation in conversational AI”.It said “the actual use of user information and user-protection measures at the four companies must continue to be ascertained and monitored”.
2. Google and Meta use personal information to train conversational AIThe report identified differences in the information companies use for AI training:Google “generally uses” third-party information in the AI training comparison, subject to personal-information considerations. Meta also uses third-party content, while LINE Yahoo reported no such use.Google requires users to sign in and disable activity settings to opt out of relevant AI data use. TikTok offers a choice, while Meta provides controls outside its AI interface.The ministry called for continued scrutiny of “user information incorporated into AI training data”.It said “the actual use and user-protection measures at the four companies must continue to be ascertained and monitored”.
3. Three platforms use AI for user profilingThe ministry found that all four companies use AI to improve advertising and identify sensitive information. Google, LINE Yahoo and Meta also use AI to build user profiles.It said “TikTok does not use AI technology for individual profiling”.The report described AI use for “ad optimisation, improving the accuracy of targeting, and detecting sensitive information”.It found that “all four use AI technology to optimise advertising, while all except TikTok use it to profile users”.The review also raised questions about AI features that process information protected by the secrecy of communications. LINE Yahoo reported seeking specific consent when users first activate such features, while Google said it notifies users before enabling smart features.A working-group member questioned whether one person’s consent is sufficient when AI analyses conversations involving others and whether consent given years earlier remains meaningful.The ministry called for continued scrutiny of “measures to protect users where information falls under the secrecy of communications”.It said “appropriate explanations to users and technical measures at each company must continue to be monitored”.
4. Opting out of targeted advertising does not stop data collectionThe ministry found that advertising opt-outs generally do not prevent companies from receiving information collected through tracking tools on other websites.“For all four companies, opting out does not stop the transmission of information itself”.It also found that “for all four companies, even after an opt-out, information is not automatically deleted and may be used for purposes other than advertising within the scope of their privacy policies”.Information collected through external tracking tools also “may be used for purposes other than advertising”.Google and Meta provide separate deletion options, while TikTok allows users to remove certain information collected outside its platform. LINE Yahoo stops the transmission of location information when users opt out of its collection.
5. Only Google and Yahoo! Japan offer certain advertising opt-outs to people without accountsAll four companies collect some device-related information from people who are not logged in. However, only Google and LINE Yahoo’s Yahoo! Japan service allow people without accounts to opt out of targeted advertising based on data collected through external websites.TikTok reported that it does not connect information collected from logged-out users or non-account holders to an account.However, its privacy policy “does not state the differences depending on whether someone has an account or is logged in”.The ministry called for continued examination of “opt-out methods for information collected on external sites from people without accounts”.It said “all four companies allow users to opt out of targeted advertising using information collected by external-transmission tools”.
6. Advertising choices differ during account registrationGoogle offers an advertising choice when users register and explains that they can change their settings later. Meta offers a choice immediately after registration.LINE Yahoo does not offer an advertising opt-out during registration, while TikTok lets users manage advertising data afterwards. TikTok users continue to receive advertisements based on their activity on the platform.The ministry said it would monitor “the availability of opt-outs when creating an account and explanations to users about subsequent settings”.It found that “all four companies allow opt-outs from information used for advertising and provide dashboards and other means for making settings easily”.However, LINE Yahoo, Meta and TikTok “do not explicitly explain at account registration that settings can be changed afterwards”.
7. Tracking tools on third-party websites lack sufficient transparencyThe ministry found that all four companies collect device identifiers, advertising identifiers and behavioural information through tools installed on other websites.Google, Meta and TikTok receive hashed email addresses or phone numbers to match advertising data. LINE Yahoo converts information into identifiers after receiving it.The ministry said “all four companies require third parties, under terms of use and other arrangements, to comply with laws including those on obtaining consent and giving notice”.Google and Meta reported taking corrective action against improper practices, while LINE Yahoo and TikTok reported no cases requiring correction.However, the ministry found that “the actual state of correction is unclear”.It also said “some companies do not appear to require proper methods of explanation to users in their terms”.The ministry called for continued checks on “guidance and measures concerning third-party websites that collect information improperly”.It recommended that platforms provide clearer information about what tracking tools collect and why.“It is desirable to provide the information in a list”.Google, Meta and TikTok restrict partner websites from providing data about children under 13. LINE Yahoo reported no equivalent collection restriction but said it does not target children using that information.
8. Three companies do not measure whether users understand their privacy policiesAll four companies provide dedicated privacy-information pages.The ministry said “all four companies have dedicated privacy pages on their websites and seek to provide explanations that are easy to understand”.However, Google, LINE Yahoo and TikTok do not assess whether users understand their privacy policies. Meta tracks visits to its policy and conducted a user survey in 2022, but did not measure the effect of its subsequent rewrite.The report found that “the three companies other than Meta do not assess users’ level of understanding”.It called for attention to “their reasons for not assessing or prioritising it”.The ministry said it would continue examining “the extent to which users refer to and understand privacy policies”.It also called for monitoring “efforts that also take account of how much users consult privacy policies and how well they understand them”.
9. Only Meta allows users to export some inferred personal dataAll four platforms let users download some information they provided directly. However, only Meta offers limited access to information it has inferred or generated about users, including advertising interests.The ministry found that “Meta makes some of the data generated from collected information portable, while the other three companies do not”.Google argued that internally generated or inferred information is a proprietary company asset rather than information provided by users.The ministry said “for all four companies, portability is secured for some information collected directly from users”.It found that “information collected directly from users is portable to a certain extent”.The ministry said it would continue examining generated-data portability “while taking account of international rules”.
10. Platforms differ in protections for childrenGoogle prohibits personalised advertising for users under 18. LINE Yahoo restricts age-based and behavioural targeting of that group, while Meta and TikTok limit targeting involving certain subjects.All four companies use automated systems to screen advertisements, although the ministry’s finding for LINE Yahoo applies only to Yahoo! Japan.The report said the companies “use automated technology in ad screening and detect inappropriate ads in advance”.The ministry called for continued scrutiny of “profiling and targeted advertising directed at young people”.
11. Japan wants stronger domestic privacy oversightThe report found that all four companies have access to specialists familiar with Japanese privacy and telecommunications laws, including external lawyers.It said “all four companies have specialist personnel in Japan with expertise in relevant Japanese laws, in some cases including external lawyers”.The report noted efforts to strengthen their capabilities “through internal and specialist training”.However, the ministry said “securing domestic personnel and establishing systems are desirable”.It found that “domestic experts are involved in privacy-protection measures at all four companies”.It added that “measures for users should accord with Japan’s legal system”.
12. Japan will continue monitoring AI training, advertising and data collectionThe working group recommended further monitoring of how companies use personal information for advertising, AI training and profiling.It said “continuous monitoring should be carried out”.The review will also examine “the use of AI and alternatives to third-party cookies”.The ministry called for stronger safeguards for people without accounts, including “user-protection measures such as opt-outs”.For conversational AI, it recommended examining how personal information is used for training and advertising, “also taking account of its relationship to the secrecy of communications”.The monitoring is based on Article 52(2) of Japan’s guidelines on protecting personal information in telecommunications businesses, which provides for periodic reviews of companies’ information-handling practices.Quotes in this article from non-English sources are MediaNama’s English translations.Read more:
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