Earlier today a Saitama prefecture lawyer has filed a case against a unit of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) at the Tokyo District Court after NTT blocked three websites with pirated content earlier this week.
Plaintiff Yūichi Nakazawa has claimed in the case that NTT's action is allegedly a violation of the Telecommunications Business Act, and constitutes a violation of privacy of communication, due to this action implying that NTT is aware of what content that its users have access to. Article 3, Chapter I of the Telecommunications Business Act states, "No communications being handled by a telecommunications carrier shall be censored," while Article 4 states, "The secrecy of communications being handled by a telecommunications carrier shall not be violated."
In article 21 of the Constitution of Japan it states, "Freedom of assembly and association as well as speech, press and all other forms of expression are guaranteed. No censorship shall be maintained, nor shall the secrecy of any means of communication be violated."
Nakazawa also further stated in his case that the site blocking is not stipulated in NTT's Internet connection contract.
There is word on the street that the Japanese government is planning to use the argument that pirated content harms publishers and content creators, and that the site-blocking would be allowed under the "averting present danger" article of Japan's Penal Code. We will see what happens in the near future.
What are your thoughts on the whole thing? Who do you think is right and wrong? Sound off with your thoughts in the usual place below!