LINE Transparency Report

User Information Disclosure/Deletion Requests From Law Enforcement

Cases User Information is Provided

Summary of July - December 2021

Requests and Disclosures

We received 2,377 requests in total and made 1,835 disclosures.
Targeted Contact Information

Data related to 2,739 pieces of contact information were disclosed.
Law
Enforcement

Requests from Japanese law enforcement accounted for 69% of the total.

From July to December 2021, we received 2,377 requests from law enforcement agencies all over the world. This marks an increase of 17% from the previous period. Information was disclosed in 1,835 requests for an increase of 29% from the previous period in the total number of disclosures.
Out of the 1,835 requests in which information was disclosed, 1,676 involved the LINE app, an increase of 31% compared to the 1,278 requests fulfilled the previous period.
37% of disclosures were related to incidents involving financial harm. In Japan, most disclosures were related to financial harm (32%). In Taiwan, the country with the second-highest number of disclosures, most disclosures were also related to financial harm (53%).
Data related to 2,739 pieces of contact information were disclosed as part of the 1,835 requests that we fulfilled. This is a ratio of 1.49 pieces of contact information per fulfilled request. The previous period saw a ratio of 1.31 pieces of contact information per fulfilled request.
We did not receive any requests from new countries during this period. We began compiling statistics in 2016 and have received requests from 20 countries and regions to date.
Most requests came from Japanese (69%) and Taiwanese (27%) law enforcement agencies.
For every one million monthly active users in Japan, data related to 20.7 pieces of contact information were disclosed to law enforcement. For every one million monthly active users in Taiwan, data related to 41.0 pieces of contact information were similarly disclosed.
A large number of “Investigation-Related Inquiries” in Japan (84) 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; 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.
- Starting from Jan–Jun 2021, we have changed the method by which we calculate the number of fulfilled requests. Up until this period, we counted requests that were both received and fulfilled within the report period in our statistics. From Jan–Jun 2021 onward, we will count only requests fulfilled within the report period regardless of when they were received.
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 by request of a law enforcement agency that permits 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”, 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 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 propriety of the investigation.
A single request may include multiple pieces of contact information.
We fulfill 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.

Services

Reports for this period include the services listed below.

LINE
LINE Official Account
LINE PLAY
LINE LIVE
LINE OpenChat
livedoor Blog
LINE Pay (Japan only)
LINE Securities
LINE Pocket Money
LINE BITMAX
LINE Prepaid Card
LINE GIFT
LINE NEWS
LINE TODAY
LINE BLOG
LINE Out
LINE Coins
LINE Talk CARE
LINE MINI App

The list above only includes services that participated in the disclosure or received requests in this period.

Disclosure Requests

Canada Disclosure Requests
Requests		1
Disclosures	Warrants	0
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		0

Germany Disclosure Requests
Requests		1
Disclosures	Warrants	0
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		0

Hong Kong Disclosure Requests
Requests		2
Disclosures	Warrants	0
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		0

Japan Disclosure Requests
Requests		1,633
Disclosures	Warrants	1,248
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	88
	Emergencies	26
Targeted Contact Information		1,859

Singapore Disclosure Requests
Requests		1
Disclosures	Warrants	0
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		0

South Korea Disclosure Requests
Requests		91
Disclosures	Warrants	18
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		18

Taiwan Disclosure Requests
Requests		648
Disclosures	Warrants	455
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	-
	Emergencies	0
Targeted Contact Information		862

Total Disclosure Requests
Requests		2,377
Disclosures	Warrants	1,721
	Investigation -Related Inquiries	88
	Emergencies	26
Targeted Contact Information		2,739

Disclosure requests
	Requests	Disclosures			Targeted Contact Information
	Requests	Warrants	Investigation -Related Inquiries	Emergencies	Targeted Contact Information
Canada	1	0	-	0	0
Germany	1	0	-	0	0
Hong Kong	2	0	-	0	0
Japan	1,633	1,248	88	26	1,859
Singapore	1	0	-	0	0
South Korea	91	18	-	0	18
Taiwan	648	455	-	0	862
Total	2,377	1,721	88	26	2,739

The graph below breaks down the disclosed data.

Many disclosures related 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.