December 18, 2024 Request for Responses to So-Called “Yami Baito(Shady Part-Time Jobs)” on SNS and Other Platforms

 Today, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) requested in writing that large-scale operators of social networking services (SNSs) respond to so-called "yami baito (shady part-time jobs)" on their platforms.

 On some SNSs or other exchange-type platform services, criminal groups post so-called "yami baito ". These soliciting posts have led to numerous robberies and other crimes, becoming a serious social issue.
 Given that SNSs, etc., have become a social infrastructure that supports people's lives and socioeconomic activities, as noted in the "Summary of the Study Group on How to Ensure the Soundness of Information Distribution in Digital Space" (September 10, 2024), we believe that social media platform operators are expected to assume a certain level of responsibility for ensuring the soundness of information distribution in the digital space.
 In light of this situation, today the MIC has requested large-scale operators* that provide SNSs and other platforms through the Social Media Association of Japan (SMAJ) to take action.

 *Large-scale operators, who are member companies of the SMAJ or their affiliates, that provide SNSs or other platforms with an average of 10 million or more monthly active users in Japan as of the end of the previous fiscal year.