Telecom Data Storage Locations Will Soon Be Public In Japan

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: Social media and search engine operators in Japan will be required to specify the countries in which users' data is physically stored, under a planned tweak to local laws. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications this week announced it plans to submit the revision to the Telecommunications Business Law early next year. The amendment, if passed, requires search engines, social media operators and mobile phone companies with over 10 million Japanese users to disclose where in the world they store data, and identify any foreign subcontractors that can access the data. The proposed law applies to overseas companies that operate in Japan -- meaning the likes of Twitter and Facebook will need to disclose their storage choices publicly. Oddly, search engines that just cover travel and food get a pass and don't have to comply. "The move is in part a reaction to Japan's hugely popular homegrown freeware instant communication app, LINE, which had several recent snafus related to data storage and protection," the report adds.

In March, the Japanese government said it was investigating LINE's parent company after a local newspaper reported that engineers at one of the app's Chinese contractors accessed the messages and personal details of LINE users. And just a couple weeks ago, the company announced that around 133,000 users' payment details were mistakenly published on GitHub between September and November of this year.

Re:

[boudie2]

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.

... several recent snafus ...

[Errol backfiring]

Apparently this is not that much of a "Situation Normal", as Japan plans to take action.

Privacy Policy, Terms and Condition

[Midnight Thunder]

So sites are currently publishing privacy policies and terms & conditions. Would the ne t legal document be a “storage location disclosure”, an “infrastructure disclosure”,or some other titled document?