Japan was set to introduce a new law cracking down on illegal downloading of copyrighted content, but the government is now going back to the drawing board, after complaints from both sides of the debate around online piracy.
“We have yet to eliminate the worries of both copyright holders and users. We should work on it anew,” said politician Masaaki Akaike, of the Japanese House of Councillors.
The new law was due to come into force at the start of 2020, and would have covered downloads of all kinds: not just music and videos, but even screenshots of visual works like manga comics.
“Some experts have said people may refrain from downloading content altogether, unsure of whether it is legitimate or not. Others have pointed out the envisioned legislation has loopholes as it would allow people to view pirated content without the need to download it,” reported Japanese news site Mainichi.
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