LINE

LINE Transparency Report

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Jan-Jun 2018
Jul-Dec 2020 Jan-Jun 2020 Jul-Dec 2019 Jan-Jun 2019 Jul-Dec 2018 Jul-Dec 2017 Jan-Jun 2017 Jul-Dec 2016

[October 18, 2021] It came to our notice that there were some errors in the compilation of figures in this report, and we have since corrected these errors. Corrections are indicated in red (previously disclosed information is in brackets).
Press release regarding this correction: https://linecorp.com/en/pr/news/en/2021/3934

User Information Disclosure/Deletion Requests From Law Enforcement

Cases User Information is Provided

Summary of January–June 2018

  • Requests

    LINE received 1,561(1,576) requests in total.

  • Disclosures(Handled Requests)

    76% of requests were fulfilled(handled).

  • Targeted Contact Information

    Data related to 1,563 pieces of contact information were disclosed.(1,560 instances of contact information disclosure)

  • Law
    Enforcement

    Requests from Japanese law enforcement accounted for 85(86)% of the total

  • From January to June 2018, LINE received 1,561(1,576) requests related to the LINE messaging app from law enforcement agencies all over the world. This is an increase of 177(186) requests (13% increase) from the previous period. Information was disclosed in 1,193(1,190) requests (76%). The increase of disclosures were mainly to Japanese (31% increase in disclosures related to bodily harm) and Taiwanese (28% increase in disclosures related to financial harm) law enforcement agencies.(The increase of requests is mainly due to requests from Japanese (31% increase in requests related to bodily harm) and Taiwanese (28% increase in requests related to financial harm) law enforcement agencies.)
  • Data related to 1,563 pieces of contact information were(Information on 1,560 accounts was) disclosed as part of the 1,193(1,190) requests that LINE fulfilled. This is a ratio of 1.31 pieces of contact information(accounts) per fulfilled request. This ratio is around the same level as the previous period's ratio (1.27 pieces of contact information(accounts) per fulfilled request).
  • This period marked the first time since LINE began compiling statistics that a request was received from Germany. LINE began compiling statistics in 2016 and has received requests from 13 countries and regions to date.
  • Most(The majority of) requests came from Japanese (85(86)%) and Taiwanese (11%) law enforcement agencies. This fits with the numbers from 2016 (the first year LINE began compiling statistics)—87% of requests came from Japan, 10% of requests came from Taiwan.
  • For every one million monthly active users in Japan, data related to 17.1 pieces of contact information were(Information on 17.0 accounts was) disclosed to law enforcement. For every one million monthly active users in Taiwan, data related to 12.4 pieces of contact information were(Information on 12.4 accounts was) disclosed to law enforcement.
  • 33% of disclosures(requests) were related to incidents involving children. The main reasons for making disclosures(requests) can vary by location. In Japan, most disclosures(requests) are related to incidents involving children (38%). In Taiwan, most disclosures(requests) are related to financial harm (67%).

Report Notes

  • This report covers information on the number of disclosure requests from law enforcement made to LINE and the number of cases which were actually disclosed in this period.
  • This report includes requests related to the LINE messaging app only.
  • LINE complies with disclosure requests from Japanese law enforcement when at least one of the following legal grounds is met:
    • Warrant (Code of Criminal Procedure): A document issued by a court that permits or orders seizure, inspection or other activities.
    • Investigation-Related Inquiry (Code of Criminal Procedure): An information disclosure request from law enforcement to a business operator or other entity for aiding in an investigation.
    • Emergency (Penal Code): An emergency action taken when a human life or rights are under threat. For LINE(In the case of LINE), this means identifying a relevant user when, for example, a bomb threat or suicide threat is made.
  • “Warrants” and “Investigation-Related Inquiries” include requests received originally as “Emergencies” but fulfilled(handled) in accordance with corresponding procedures for relevant legal documents.
  • LINE(The person in charge of LINE) will only cooperate with criminal investigations in accordance with strict information handling rules, and only when a thorough verification confirms the legality or overall(and) propriety of the investigation.
  • A single request may include(contain) multiple pieces of contact information.
  • LINE fulfills(handles) requests from non-Japanese law enforcement according to the Act on International Assistance, the mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) of relevant countries and other international investigation assistance frameworks. This includes instances where the Japanese police receive a request via the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) or Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs receives a request via an embassy. The same rules regarding warrants and verification by privacy protection organizations and other handling rules still apply.
  • "Targeted Contact Information" indicates the specific user contact information (phone number, LINE ID, etc.) that authorities identified as relevant to their investigation(suspect are involved in crime).

Disclosure Requests

Germany Disclosure Requests
Requests 1
Disclosures(Data Provided) Warrants 0
Investigation
-Related Inquiries		 -
Emergencies (*1) 0
Targeted Contact
Information 		0
Japan Disclosure Requests
Requests 1,332(1,347)
Disclosures(Data Provided) Warrants 1,023(1,021)
Investigation
-Related Inquiries		 1(0)
Emergencies (*1) 1
Targeted Contact
Information 		1,298(1,294)
Singapore Disclosure Requests
Requests 1
Disclosures(Data Provided) Warrants 0
Investigation
-Related Inquiries		 -
Emergencies (*1) 0
Targeted Contact
Information 		0
South Korea Disclosure Requests
Requests 48
Disclosures(Data Provided) Warrants 5
Investigation
-Related Inquiries		 -
Emergencies (*1) 0
Targeted Contact
Information 		5
Taiwan Disclosure Requests
Requests 176
Disclosures(Data Provided) Warrants 163
Investigation
-Related Inquiries		 -
Emergencies (*1) 0
Targeted Contac
Information 		260(261)
United Kingdom Disclosure Requests
Requests 2
Disclosures(Data Provided) Warrants 0
Investigation
-Related Inquiries		 -
Emergencies (*1) 0
Targeted Contact
Information 		0
United States Disclosure Requests
Requests 1
Disclosures(Data Provided) Warrants 0
Investigation
-Related Inquiries		 -
Emergencies (*1) 0
Targeted Contact
Information 		0
Total Disclosure Requests
Requests 1,561(1,576)
Disclosures(Data Provided) Warrants 1,191(1,189)
Investigation
-Related Inquiries		 1(0)
Emergencies (*1) 1
Targeted Contact
Information 		1,563(1,560)
Disclosure Requests - total
  Requests Disclosures(Data Provided) Targeted Contact
Information
Warrants Investigation
-Related Inquiries		 Emergencies (*1)
Germany 1 0 - 0 0
Japan 1,332(1,347) 1,023(1,021) 1(0) 1 1,298(1,294)
Singapore 1 0 - 0 0
South Korea 48 5 - 0 5
Taiwan 176 163 - 0 260(261)
United Kingdom 2 0 - 0 0
United States 1 0 - 0 0
Total 1,561(1,576) 1,191(1,189) 1(0) 1 1,563(1,560)

(*1) Includes cases where we discovered crime or self-harm threats through Timeline monitoring and notified the police based on the urgency of the matter.

The breakdown of disclosures is as follows:

  • Most of the disclosures(The majority of the requests) involved children (violations of municipal ordinances concerning youth protection, violations of dating site regulations, child prostitution, child pornography, child abuse etc.). In order to protect children from crime and provide an environment that is safe to use, LINE carries out initiatives such as the following in Japan and other countries:
    • Restrict the Friend search function for minors
    • Distribute educational materials to minors, guardians, and educators
    • Conduct workshops and lectures at schools
    • Established a "Committee to Prepare and Maintain an Environment for Youths to Use the Internet"
    • Conducted a survey in collaboration with the Board of Education to understand the way internet is used among youths.

Deletion Requests

No effective deletion request has been received from the authorities during this period.

For details on this report, see here

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