Photo/Illutration An internal affairs ministry signboard (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The central government is expected to set new rules to make it easier and faster for victims of online defamation to identify the authors of the defamatory statements through the courts.

An internal affairs ministry expert panel is proposing new procedures to allow for courts to order business operators, including internet service providers and social media companies, to disclose information on anonymous online commenters, even if a defamation lawsuit is not filed.

The panel drafted the policy proposal on Nov. 12 as part of a study into the matter.

The government had promised to move quickly on examining new measures to curb anonymous cyberbullying, after the high-profile death of professional wrestler Hana Kimura, who committed suicide in the spring after facing intense bullying on social media.

The ministry will solicit public feedback on the issue in the coming days and give shape to the system, with an aim to change the law next year.

But some have raised concerns over whether the new system could unintentionally deliver a blow to freedom of expression.

In past government panel discussions, some experts pointed to cases where companies tried to identify individuals who posted critical comments on consumer issues or who were whistleblowers.

Many experts called for countermeasures to be designed to prevent abuse of the system.

“If the proposed system is not operated appropriately, freedom of expression could be diminished,” one expert said at the Nov. 12 government panel meeting.

But the head of the expert panel, Masahiro Sogabe, a professor at Kyoto University who specializes in the Constitution and information law, defended the new policy as a carefully considered proposal to curb online abuse and harassment.

“We discussed the issue to ultimately preserve the balance between the protection of victims and freedom of expression,” he said. “We were able to propose the best system for now.”

Under the new proposal, courts could order social media companies and other internet business operators to disclose information about anonymous message senders without requiring time-consuming legal procedures. Courts could also order the businesses to preserve identifying information about commenters.

The disclosure requirements, though, will remain the same as before. For example, messages will not be considered unlawful if they are true and made in the public interest.

If victims or operators have objections against the court decisions, they can oppose them through legal action.

The business operators are required to listen to the opinions of those posting on their platforms. According to the proposal, when the operators decide whether to challenge court orders, “they are recommended to respect the will of message senders as much as possible and take them into consideration.”

As it stands, it is extremely difficult for victims to identify anonymous commenters without first initiating legal action.

The new procedures would allow cyberbullies to be identified much faster and are expected to make it much easier for victims to communicate with foreign online platform operators.

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