This is a well meaning law but it is very important to know that defamation is very broad in Japan unlike the US and can essentially mean "anything that can cause negative reputation." If a CEO cheats on his wife and I publicly out his affair, I can be sued for defamation in Japan.
Japan passes revised penal code with harsher punishment for cyberbullying
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Re: Japan passes revised penal code with harsher punishment for cyberbullying
#152Abuse coming in 3..2..1... As with every law involving limitation of free speech, it will be easily abused by powerful people against less powerful people. Also, it appears they already had a perfectly legit punishment: " ... The penalty applied to the crime under the pre-revised law was "detention for less than 30 days" or "a fine of less than 10,000 yen (roughly $74)" -- the lightest punishments under the Penal Cod…
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Re: Japan passes revised penal code with harsher punishment for cyberbullying
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there any practical evidence of this slippery slope? Here in Canada hate speech, defamation, and obscenity have been illegal for a while. The idea is that you have freedom of expression, but it only extends as far as it doesn't infringe on another person's entitlement to a life free from discrimination & harassment. I don't feel like this has been a slippery slope for us, only a different place to draw the lines b…
> you have freedom of expression, but it only extends as far as it doesn't infringe on another person's entitlement to a life free from discrimination & harassment How do you determine this? If I define a common word to be offensive towards me, how would you argue against it if I really feel that way? Where do you draw the line?
Typically it's up to the society's jurisprudential body to determine if harm has been caused in each individual case, the same way damages are determined in most infringements - i.e. slander, libel, defamation, obscenity, incitement, sedition, etc.
Re: Japan passes revised penal code with harsher punishment for cyberbullying
#154Bullying is a part of reality. I see people bully others in offices for every company I have ever worked with and at, whether it’s passive aggressive slights, framing, etc. You’re never going to get rid of it entirely because humans are an inherently hierarchical species and bullying is a method of establishing hierarchy and dominance. While trying to punish going over board may be a good thing, this whole “let’s all…
Wrong. Pretending bullying isn’t evil in kids, as you just did, is what trains them to be dysfunctional adults.
Re: Japan passes revised penal code with harsher punishment for cyberbullying
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
That link has already sailed. Libel and slander are already illegal speech, as is inciting violence, as is yelling “fire” in a crowded theater, as is saying curse words on broadcast TV and radio.
It's telling that people are swarming to point out the 1 'technically incorrect' entry in this list, whilst completely ignoring all the others.
Okay, I'll bite. Libel and slander aren't illegal speech; you can make a civil action for the damages connected to them, but they aren't outlawed and you won't face criminal prosecution. Unless you're in a jurisdiction with criminal defamation laws, which journalists and human rights activists have been fighting for decades. https://cpj.org/2000/09/calls-for-repeal-of-criminal-defamat...
Some jurisdictions have criminalized "hate speech", but the implementation and definition of this is haphazard, and the consequences are often negative, rebounding on communities that were originally intended to be protected.
The one you missed which is consistently forbidden across the world is CSAM.
Re: Japan passes revised penal code with harsher punishment for cyberbullying
#15699% conviction rate. Nice law but practically, if you are accused you will get convicted. I don't know why they make a mockery of their judicial system. Either a ton of bad guys don't get tried or a ton of innocent people are getting convicted.
Re: Japan passes revised penal code with harsher punishment for cyberbullying
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there any practical evidence of this slippery slope? Here in Canada hate speech, defamation, and obscenity have been illegal for a while. The idea is that you have freedom of expression, but it only extends as far as it doesn't infringe on another person's entitlement to a life free from discrimination & harassment. I don't feel like this has been a slippery slope for us, only a different place to draw the lines b…
Another Canadian here. Saw a video of an American pastor last week saying homosexuals should be lined up against the wall and shot. Great people they are protecting down there.
That's basic political speech and is currently the law in some countries.
Re: Japan passes revised penal code with harsher punishment for cyberbullying
#158This would suggest the only winning move is not to play. Aside from this, I haven't used Social Media/ Online Dating in about 5 years. For example, if someone posts something like "Where can I find an apartment in LA , my income is only 35k a year". And I respond with " Your not going to make it here, you should move somewhere cheaper." That can be interupted as an insult. On the other end of the spectrum, back when…
IMO if you say X in real life and a judge says you to to jail then why would it be different if you said X on the internet or on the phone? Seems reasonable that your free speech has consequences if you cause harm even if your speech was on the TV,internet or a news paper. Regular laws should apply for all speech.
It's not exactly documented if someone insults me at a bar.
"Cause harm" is a heavily subjective term.
If I say you're wasting your time learning Haskell since you'll never find a job, and this triggers a mental breakdowns in you, can you sue me ?
I'd argue the nature of social media actually encourages people to be meaner. If I'm a jerk at my local bar I can be easily banned.
If I'm a jerk on Facebook or a scammer on Tinder I can create a new account in 20 seconds.
Re: Japan passes revised penal code with harsher punishment for cyberbullying
#159I think the appropriate aphorism here is "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." No doubt the Japanese government believe that this law is for extreme cases where someone sends thousands of awful messages, or where a mob drives someone to suicide, but this will end up being used to prosecute some poor 14 year old kid who calls someone else a bad name in Call of Duty. Without strict limitations in laws they'…
> "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." I agree. For example, we created a global flat bidirectional un-gatekept communications network with the altruistic and high-minded belief that if allowed to communicate without the material trappings of class, race, gender, and the various other things that separate us in "meatspace," we'd create a techno-utopia of our best selves through rational discourse and the…
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Re: Japan passes revised penal code with harsher punishment for cyberbullying
#160Laws like this sound well-intentioned enough but are rampant for abuse and unequal application. If someone is outraged at some controversial policy or statement, how does that play out? Especially when the people in question are public figures: > professional wrestler Hana Kimura died in 2020 at age 22 following cyberbullying on social media over her remarks on a reality romance show that she had been part of. Imagin…
Maybe people shouldn't say evil and hateful things about anyone, no matter how bad they are, because it makes the entire culture of public discourse more toxic.
Americans seem to have very little reverence for the quality and civility of public discourse in general anymore, and often say "the other side is worse" or "I'm intolerant of intolerance" as their justification for personally contributing to the normalization of uncivil ways of speaking.
Japan doesn't seem to have these problems with people culturally defecting from civility even when they disagree, and I believe their willingness to not tolerate it to any degree is what keeps the rest of society defecting to low quality behavior patterns.
There are many morally self righteous individuals who think they are doing the right thing and don't realise their counterparts they spew (self righteously) hatred towards are the exact same as them.
I think both groups should receive censure for valuing their personal crusades over the quality of stability and civility of society the rest of us value; who have more nuanced and humble opinions of our own self righteousness. Really glad there's another country that agrees with me!