Issued Aug 7, 2026｜Written request to strengthen voluntary action on deepfake impersonation ads
On August 7, 2026, Japan's Digital Agency, together with the National Police Agency, Financial Services Agency, Consumer Affairs Agency, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, sent a written request to large SNS and platform operators to strengthen measures against impersonation fraud ads. The request went to five companies: Google LLC, LINE Yahoo Corporation, Meta Platforms, Inc., TikTok Pte. Ltd. and X Corp. The background is the wide circulation of fraudulent ads — including ones that use deepfakes to exploit celebrities' likenesses and voices without permission — and the growing damage from investment fraud that starts with those ads. The seven agencies state that such ads risk financial harm to consumers and users, and can also seriously damage the social trust of the people being impersonated, which cannot be overlooked. Importantly, this is not a new law taking effect: it asks platform operators to further strengthen their own voluntary measures, while the ministries continue studying countermeasures. The contact list attached to the request spans organized-fraud policing, unregistered financial operators and crypto assets, My Number Card usage, commercial registration electronic certificates, and the Digital Platform Transparency Act. Details of what was requested are in the attached PDF.
Ads are shown based on access from within Japan and on language settings, so foreign residents and travellers also encounter impersonation fraud ads — in Japanese or machine-translated into their own language. Deepfakes now reproduce voice and lip movement, so even Japanese speakers struggle to spot them; if you are less familiar with Japanese celebrities or financial institutions, you have even fewer clues for judging whether an ad is genuine. This request asks platforms to strengthen their own voluntary measures, so it creates no new obligation or procedure for users. In practice, however, most consultation desks operate mainly in Japanese, and short-stay visitors find it hard to keep a case moving after returning home. The practical safeguard is to check an operator's registration status before sending any money, and to note the government contact points published with the request.
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