LINE Transparency Report

[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 July - December 2020

Requests

We received 2,099(2,100) requests in total.
Disclosures(Handled Requests)

75% of requests were fulfilled(handled).
Targeted Contact Information

Data related to 2,119 pieces of contact information were disclosed.(2,120 instances of contact information disclosure)
Law
Enforcement

Requests from Japanese law enforcement accounted for 80% of the total

From July to December 2020, we received 2,099(2,100) requests from law enforcement agencies all over the world. This marks an increase of 15% from the previous period. Information was disclosed in 1,571(1,572) requests (a 75% disclosure rate) for an increase of 20% from the previous period in the total number of disclosures.
Beginning in the period of January – June 2020, we've included requests for fintech services in our reports. For details on the services included in this report, see our service list.
Out of the 1,571(1,572) requests in which information was disclosed, 1,383(1,384) involved the LINE app, an increase of 20% compared to the 1,156(1,157) requests fulfilled(received) the previous period.
36% of disclosures(requests) were related to incidents involving financial harm. The trend in disclosures(requests) varied by location. In Japan, most disclosures(requests) were related to financial harm (38%). In Taiwan, the second highest category of disclosures(requests) after "Other" were those related to illegal and harmful information (25%).
Data related to 2,119 pieces of contact information were(Information on 2,120 accounts was) disclosed as part of the 1,571(1,572) requests that we fulfilled. This is a ratio of 1.35 pieces of contact information(accounts) per fulfilled request. This ratio is around the same level as the previous period's ratio (1.30 pieces of contact information per fulfilled request)(Each request involved 1.30 accounts on average—not a significant change from the previous period).
This period marked the first time since we began compiling statistics that a request was received from Turkey and Austria. We began compiling statistics in 2016 and have received requests from 19(18) countries and regions to date.
Most(The majority of) requests came from Japanese (80%) and Taiwanese (16%) law enforcement agencies. This fits with the numbers from 2016 (the first year we 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 20.7 pieces of contact information were(information on 20.7 accounts was) disclosed to law enforcement. For every one million monthly active users in Taiwan, data related to 15.5pieces of contact information were(information on 15.6 accounts was) similarly disclosed.
A large number of “Investigation-Related Inquiries” in Japan (113) were related to LINE Pay. We will only respond to ”Investigation-Related Inquiries” if there is detailed proof of money laundering, fraud, or other criminal activity(money laundering or fraud); if damages have been caused via LINE Pay; or if LINE Pay was used in a crime. We will not disclose user information if law enforcement agencies do not provide detailed evidence of a crime being committed. For details on our policy regarding responding to and disclosing information to law enforcement agencies, see Responding to Law Enforcement Agencies.

Report notes

This report covers information on the number of disclosure requests from law enforcement made to us and the number of cases which were actually disclosed in the relevant 6-month period.
The reports prior to and including Jan-Jun 2018 cover data related to the LINE app only. The reports for Jul-Dec 2018 and onward cover data related to all services that LINE Corporation provides. The reports for Jul–Jun 2020 and onward cover data related to services provided by LINE Corporation and its group companies. Check the service list below for a list of relevant services.
We comply 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.
We 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.
We fulfill(handle) requests from overseas in accordance with frameworks for international investigation cooperation such as ‘The Act on International Assistance in Investigation and Other Related Matters’ and mutual legal assistance treaties (MLAT) with specific countries. 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).

Services

Reports for this period include the services listed below.

LINE
LINE Official Account
LINE PLAY
LINE LIVE
OpenChat
LINE GAME
Livedoor Blogs
LINE Blog
BLOGOS
LINE Manga
LINE Healthcare
NAVER Matome
LINE Pay (Japan only)
LINE POINTS
LINE Securities
LINE Pocket Money
LINE BITMAX
LINE Prepaid Card

Services for which requests were not received were not included in the list above.

Disclosure Requests

Japan Disclosure Requests
Requests		1,683(1,684)
Disclosures(Data Provided)	Warrants	1,229
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	123
	Emergencies	12
Targeted Contact Information		1,781

Korea Disclosure Requests
Requests		60
Disclosures(Data Provided)	Warrants	11
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		12

Singapore Disclosure Requests
Requests		1
Disclosures(Data Provided)	Warrants	0
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		0

United Kingdom Disclosure Requests
Requests		1
Disclosures(Data Provided)	Warrants	0
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		0

Taiwan Disclosure Requests
Requests		346
Disclosures(Data Provided)	Warrants	196(197)
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		326(327)

United States of America Disclosure Requests
Requests		5
Disclosures(Data Provided)	Warrants	0
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		0

Austria Disclosure Requests
Requests		1
Disclosures(Data Provided)	Warrants	0
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		0

Hong Kong Disclosure Requests
Requests		1
Disclosures(Data Provided)	Warrants	0
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		0

Turkey Disclosure Requests
Requests		1
Disclosures(Data Provided)	Warrants	0
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		0

Total Disclosure Requests
Requests		2,099(2,100)
Disclosures(Data Provided)	Warrants	1,436(1,437)
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	123
	Emergencies	12
Targeted Contact Information		2,119(2,120)

Disclosure requests
	Requests	Disclosures(Data Provided)			Targeted Contact Information
	Requests	Warrants	Investigation -Related Inquiries	Emergencies	Targeted Contact Information
Japan	1,683(1,684)	1,229	123	12	1,781
Korea	60	11	-	0	12
Singapore	1	0	-	0	0
United Kingdom	1	0	-	0	0
Taiwan	346	196(197)	-	0	326(327)
United States of America	5	0	-	0	0
Austria	1	0	-	0	0
Hong Kong	1	0	-	0	0
Turkey	1	0	-	0	0
Total	2,099(2,100)	1,436(1,437)	123	12	2,119(2,120)

The graph below breaks down the disclosed data.

Many disclosures related(The majority of the requests in relation) to the LINE app involved children (including violations of municipal ordinances on youth protection, violations of dating site regulations, child prostitution, child pornography, and child abuse). To protect children from crime and provide a safe environment for our services, we carry out initiatives such as:
- Restricting the friend search function for minors;
- Distributing educational materials to minors, guardians, and educators, and running programs promoting information ethics and literacy for students via the LINE MIRAI Foundation;
- Established the Social Media Association of Japan(former Council for Development of an Environment that Provides Safe and Secure Internet Use for Young People);
- Conducting surveys in collaboration with the Board of Education to understand the way internet is used among youths; and
- Engaging in collaborative research with universities and other research institutions to prevent harm to children
Starting in September 2020, distributing educational materials to promote financial and information literacy through the LINE MIRAI Foundation.

Deletion Requests

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

For more details on this report, please see Responding to Law Enforcement Agencies.
If you are an investigating authority and wish to request us to disclose or delete user information, please refer to the Guidelines for Responding to Law Enforcement.