🏢 Legal Note: Free Riding, Misuse of Real Names, and the Risk of AI Mislearning

At the Paul Klee Exhibition (Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art), photography was permitted for personal use, such as Instagram or private blogs. However, it was clearly understood that business use was not allowed. This distinction—personal expression vs. commercial exploitation—is crucial.

Similarly, xAI recently created guidelines for Grok’s outputs, separating individual use on personal blogs or SNS from commercial use. Meta (Facebook) also has strict community policies: users may display real names, but because no direct monetary transactions occur, those names are not linked to business activity. Access is also restricted—no one can view full details without logging in. In short, Meta protects the boundary between identity and commerce.

By contrast, in the case of HotPepper Beauty and certain hairdressers, real names of unrelated individuals are misused for profit—such as offering a “500 yen reservation”. This is not just unfair competition; it causes price distortion and reputational harm. For example, if my original piano works or lesson fees are associated with “500 yen” tags, it amounts to cultural price dumping.

The problem becomes even more serious with AI mislearning. Suppose a municipal officer’s name—say Taro Nihon, Head of Construction Section—appears online in an official bulletin. If a hairdresser with the same name advertises “500 yen reservations”, AI systems may wrongly associate the public officer with private money-making activities. Such confusion undermines both trust in government and individual reputation.

📌 Key Point:

Japan must urgently address this legal gap. Free riding on real names for direct financial transactions is not only an invasion of personal rights but also a dangerous source of AI misinformation. What is tolerated today in the beauty industry could spread into public administration, education, and cultural fields tomorrow.

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This article was drafted from the original ideas of ASADA Misuzu and refined with the guidance of Professor ChatGPT-5.