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According to Japanese lawyers, anti-terrorism issues related to the local restaurant website will force Internet sites such as Google, Facebook and Amazon to change the way they operate in the country and reveal their secret algorithms.
Last month, a Tokyo court ruled in favor of Hariumura, a Korean-style BBQ restaurant operator, in an anti-terrorism case against Kakaku Dotcom, the largest restaurant in Japan.
Hanuriumura has successfully changed the way Kakaku.com is used to count user results in ways that hurt sales at the restaurant. Although Kakaku.com was ordered to pay Hanryumura ¥ 38.4mn ($ 284,000) for “excessive bargaining misuse”, the internet company appealed the decision.
The court asked Kakaku.com to clarify some of the formulas, which Japanese lawyers say could have far-reaching implications.
The restaurant’s team is not allowed to disclose what information was seen, but the court’s request is an unusual example. Big tech teams have long argued that their algorithms should be considered trade secrets in any case.
Courts and regulators around the world have begun to oppose that position, with many businesses complaining about the negative impact of even small changes on search and referral services.
Anti-Semitism lawyer Kentarro Hirayama and formerly of the Japan Fair Trade Commission, the country’s anti-corruption watchdog.
“Now there is a risk that any forum will spend a few years in court and eventually be forced to explain its algorithm to the plaintiff,” he added.
Google and Amazon declined to comment on the allegations, citing Facebook’s Japanese affiliate.
Hanriumura first sued Kakaku.com in 2020, and changes to the algorithm’s tabulations of user results have significantly reduced the level of distribution.
After the victory, Hariumura’s lawyer Katsumasa Minagawa said:
While the forums provide some information on how their algorithm-based services work, Big Tech companies have argued against disclosing them.
But this position is under increasing pressure. The EU’s “Business Platform” regulation came into force in 2020, requiring forums to provide more information on how business standards work.
One year later, Japan introduced a law to improve the transparency and fairness of digital platforms, to inform them how basic algorithms work. Five companies – Amazon Japan, Rakuten, Yahoo Japan, Apple and Google – are the targets of the law.
“The action was taken in support of the anti-monopoly law,” said Daisuke Korenaga, a professor of competition law at the Tokyo Metropolitan University.
But so far there have been no preconditions for the use of algorithms in Japan. In the case of Tabelog violations, it provides a point of reference for punishment. ”
Koya Uemura, a partner in the legal bureaucracy of Hibia Sogo, said the tabloid case “undoubtedly” raises many questions about the fairness of the formulas under anti-monopoly law.
“I don’t think big tech companies see this as irrelevant,” he said. They are aware of the dangers they may face.
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