Japan moves toward age verification for social media filters and risk labels

Japan’s policymakers are considering their own version of age assurance for social media with content filtering taking the limelight.

Nikkei Asia reports that Japan is considering age-based content filtering by default for social media companies to tackle addiction among minors. Japan is also thinking of creating a system to measure the risks of each platform.

While most companies often have filtering turned off by default, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications wants social media providers to turn age-based filtering on from the start. The age ranges have yet to be established.

The ministry is considering age verification systems developed jointly with mobile carriers along with operating system providers. Mobile carriers in Japan already confirm customer identities when devices are purchased.

Under current Japanese law social media companies are only required to make an effort to promote appropriate use by minors, and the measures they adopt vary widely. Parents and guardians are also free to turn off filtering tools prompting doubts about the effectiveness of the existing framework.

In addition, the government is preparing a new evaluation system that would rate social media platforms based on risks such as excessive use or exposure to harmful content. The ratings would highlight features like content filters, ad‑display restrictions and time‑limit settings. This would enable users to quickly understand the risk profile of each service.

These proposals were presented at a meeting of an expert panel chosen by the communications ministry today with a final report expected as early as next month. Any resulting guidelines or legal revisions would then be developed by the relevant agencies, led by the Children and Families Agency.

In Asia, Indonesia banned social media for under 16s with the Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid saying the regulation applies to around 70 million minors and framing it as a way to “reclaim the sovereignty” of children’s future.

Malaysia is preparing its own “digital seatbelt” in regulating social media for 2026 that could see identity verification technology and also MyDigital ID integration. This combination could result in the most rigorous checks on access to social media platforms for under 16s in the world.

Age assurance is dawning for social media with the light of civil liability potentially bathing this digital realm even if regulation stalls. It comes following millions of dollars worth of damages awarded by juries to plaintiffs in state trials in the U.S. The likes of Meta and YouTube were on trial for alleged addictive features such as infinite scrolling and algorithmic amplification.

Article Topics

age verification  |  Japan  |  regulation  |  social media