A draft of the United Nations Cybercrime Convention, a landmark effort to frame international legislation to combat cybercrime, was unanimously approved by UN members at the end of a two-week session in New York on Aug 9, 2024.
The treaty, now headed to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for a vote, is quite significant regarding its implications for freedom of expression, especially in the context of anime and manga.
The 41-page draft proposes a legislative framework designed to enhance international cooperation among law enforcement agencies and provide technical assistance to countries with inadequate infrastructure to combat cybercrime.
It addresses various issues, and among them is online child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
A critical aspect of the treaty is its requirement for member States to criminalize activities involving CSAM, defined broadly to include any material that depicts or describes sexual activity involving minors.
The Treaty’s provisions and what it means for Anime & Manga
Japanese MP Taro Yamada has been a vocal advocate for protecting freedom of expression within the framework of the treaty.
On Aug 8, 2024, he announced via social media that a critical clause, “provision to limit to real persons” in Article 14, Paragraph 3, remained in the treaty.
This clause provides member States with the flexibility to exclude non-real content, such as anime and manga, from being classified as cybercrimes under the treaty.
This means that lolis, shotas, and other hentai/doujinshi content in anime & manga with inappropriate depiction of children won’t be regulated under the law of this treaty.
However, Yamada warned that the battle is not over, as Japan’s ratification and domestic legal adjustments could still lead to the inclusion of non-real content in the regulations.
Yamada highlighted his efforts, working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2021, to ensure that non-real content would not be affected by the treaty.
Yamada’s concerns stem from the potential for countries like China to push for global regulation of content, particularly Japanese manga, anime, and games.
“Countries that are parties to the treaty, including Japan, had strong concerns that significant regulations would be imposed on images, documents, and audio, including non-real content, thereby infringing on ‘freedom of expression.’ In particular, China has advocated for strengthening global regulations, targeting Japanese manga, anime, and games.
Although the draft of the treaty has been finalized, we cannot relax just yet. There are still risks at the stages of Japan’s ratification and domestic legal adjustments. Those who wish to impose expression regulations are likely to target this stage. The battle will now continue within Japan,” Yamada said in his post on X.
Originally, in 2001, the Council of Europe adopted a different cybercrime treaty, which had been ratified by 75 countries, including Japan and the United States.
However, Russia, which had not ratified the treaty, claimed that it was “incomplete, being a product of Western countries” and argued that a comprehensive new treaty was necessary.
The Credit Card Controversy and Broader Implications
The ongoing debate over content regulation in Japan extends beyond the UN treaty.
Several Japanese media platforms, particularly those related to anime, have recently suspended or removed the ability to use VISA and Mastercard for payments due to demands from these companies to remove explicit content.
NicoNico is a recent example of such a case.
Ken Akamatsu, the founder of Manga Library Z, had also expressed concerns about the increasing demands from international credit card companies to stop distributing content containing specific keywords.
Akamatsu noted that while similar demands had been made before, the current situation is unprecedented in its severity. He warned that if these demands are not addressed, they could lead to broader restrictions on other forms of expression, potentially impacting Japan’s entire content industry.
Manga Library Z, launched by Akamatsu in 2011, was created to digitize out-of-print works, giving them new life as a source of income for authors.
Taro Yamada’s Efforts with VISA
In line with this situation, on Aug 1, 2024, Taro Yamada met with VISA’s headquarters in San Francisco to discuss the credit card regulations affecting Japanese content platforms.
During the meeting, VISA representatives clarified that while they establish criteria for transactions, they do not make value judgments on legal content.
They emphasized that decisions regarding adult content are based on universal criteria, such as compliance with age-related rules and consensual provision of content. VISA denied issuing any instructions to regulate transactions based on specific terms, a significant point in the ongoing debate over content regulation.
Yamada expressed gratitude for VISA’s transparency and commitment to continued dialogue, but he also indicated plans to verify with card acquirers and payment service providers, who are likely making the on-site decisions regarding content regulation.
As the UN Cybercrime Treaty heads to the General Assembly for a vote, the outcome will have far-reaching implications for anime and manga.
While the treaty’s current draft offers some protection for non-real content, the domestic ratification process in Japan remains a critical battleground for freedom of expression.
A recent bill by Japanese politician calling for censorship of Anime and Manga among others stands as an example for this.
However, anime and manga industry has historically voted against such censorship laws, meaning, Japan and its anime, manga & game industry should relatively come out unscathed from it.
Source: Reuters, Hachima Kikou