Compliance

Compliance (legal compliance) is the effort to ensure that corporate activities conform to laws, regulations, industry standards, and internal rules. Violations lead to serious consequences such as fines, lawsuits, damage to the brand, and suspension of business.

The areas of compliance involved in QR code operations are wide-ranging. In personal data protection, the handling of IP addresses and location information contained in QR code scan logs falls under the Act on the Protection of Personal Information and the GDPR. Displaying a cookie consent banner, disclosing data collection in the privacy policy, and setting a data retention period are necessary.

In advertising / sales promotion, discounts and benefits shown at a QR code's link destination need to conform to the regulations of the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations (Japan) and consumer protection laws. If you display "Scan for 50% OFF" when the discount is actually conditional, it may constitute misleading representation.

In the medical / pharmaceutical field, you need to check that the information stored in a QR code does not violate the advertising regulations of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act. In the food field, nutritional information displayed from a QR code needs to comply with the Food Labeling Act. In the financial field, QR code payment is subject to the regulations of the Payment Services Act and the Installment Sales Act.

To ensure compliance, it is important to identify in advance the legal regulations that apply to each use of a QR code and to start operations only after review by the legal department or the person in charge of compliance.