Liability of Online Platforms in Japan: An Overview

Abstract

The article provides an overview of current issues surrounding platform operators’ liability in Japan. It focuses on one subset of online platforms, which provide “matching” functions between two different types of users: consumers and suppliers. The operators of such platforms, which include online malls and auction sites, can potentially bear civil law liability when users or third parties suffer damage due to the fraudulent behavior of suppliers who use the platforms. The article examines recent Japanese case-law regarding the circumstances under which platform operators bear liability towards consumers defrauded through transactions on their platforms. Potential liability can also arise towards third parties, for example, when purveyors of products sold on the platform infringe upon copyrights, patents or trademark rights. Here, too, the article presents recent Japanese case-law regarding the extent of platform operators’ liability, while also examining the circumstances under which the platform can be considered to have acted as an accessory to an illegal act. Finally, the system liability doctrine has recently been proposed as a solution to the difficulty Japanese courts face in determining intent or negligence on the part of the platform operator – and thus also in establishing the platform operator’s liability.

(The Editors)