For Law Enforcement Agencies

Basic approach

Services such as LINE and Yahoo! JAPAN are operated by LY Corporation, a Japanese telecommunications service provider. Therefore, LY Corporation adheres to the legal requirements stipulated under relevant Japanese laws (including the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, the Telecommunications Business Act, and the Code of Criminal Procedure), as well as the individual Terms of Use for each service and the Company's Privacy Policy when responding to disclosure requests for information related to the users of these services.

Response to disclosure requests

The private nature of user information legally obligates LY Corporation to protect this information, as prescribed by the Act on the Protection of Personal Information and the Telecommunications Business Act. As such, the Company will only disclose information at the behest of law enforcement if the request falls under any of the following and when deemed appropriate.

1. Requests from Japanese agencies

i. When a warrant has been issued
The Company will comply with search and seizure and other valid warrants that have been issued by a judge.

ii. When the necessity defense is applicable
The Company will respond to disclosure requests if it is able to determine that the information is necessary to avert a present danger and thus, would constitute a justifiable infringement on the secrecy of communications. However, the Company bears the responsibility for this decision, thus the Company will consider each case and the circumstances of the associated request with great care before determining whether or not disclosure would be appropriate.

iii. When the Company has received an investigation-related inquiry
Even if a law enforcement agency requests disclosure of information held by the Company about a customer, the Company will not, as a general rule, disclose information about the customer unless a judge issues a warrant or a relevant law directly obliges the Company to disclose the information (including cases in which disclosure is indirectly compelled by explicit laws and regulations). However, in exceptional cases, the Company will consider responding to a disclosure request to the extent that both the necessity and reasonableness of the disclosure are recognized by the Company. Even in such exceptional cases, information on customers that falls under any of the following categories will not be disclosed, even to the extent deemed necessary and appropriate, unless a warrant is issued.

• Information subject to and potentially subject to the protection of the secrecy of communications
• Information that the Company deems to be highly private (e.g., special care-required personal information, credit card information, information covering a wide range of time periods and items, etc.)
• Information on persons other than a suspect (excluding cases in which an emergency request is made in the interest of protecting human life or body)

２. Requests from overseas agencies

The Company will respond to disclosure requests that it has received from the International Police Criminal Organization – INTERPOL (ICPO-INTERPOL) or through diplomatic routes (e.g. via Japanese law enforcement agencies or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). In responding to such requests, the Company will follow the relevant judicial frameworks for international legal assistance, such as the mutual legal assistance treaties (MLAT) that Japan has with other countries and regions, and the Act on International Assistance in Investigation and Other Related Matters.

In each jurisdiction, more information about procedures may be found at the relevant authorities (e.g. the justice ministry, foreign affairs ministry, or law enforcement agencies).

Information to be disclosed

1.Registered information on a specific user

• Information that the user themselves registered when creating a new account or filling out their public profile, such as profile picture, display name, registered information for the account (email address, postal code, phone number, address, name, registration date and time, etc.)

*Law enforcement agencies will be requested to specify the user(s) being targeted in their investigation so that the disclosure will be restricted to relevant information only.

2. Information on the communications of a specific user

• Information on LINE service such as the date and time that the communications were sent, the IP address and port number of the device used, text from chats, and other information that falls under "secrecy of communications" as prescribed by the Constitution of Japan and the Telecommunications Business Act.

*As of July 1, 2016, end-to-end encryption has been enabled for chats by default. If the end-to-end encryption is applied, the Company would be unable to decrypt these messages and would not be able to disclose the chat content even if a law enforcement agency were to make such request.
*Law enforcement agencies will be requested to specify the time frame for which they seek information so that the disclosure will be restricted to relevant information only. In general, disclosure will be up to seven days' worth of chat messages for any specified period.

• Information on Yahoo! JAPAN service such as the log-in history of a specific user (date and time, the IP address, etc.) and transaction history of the said service (date and time of transaction, title of product subject to the transaction, product price, etc.)

FAQ

1. Is there a specific written format that should be used when submitting a request?

No, there is no specific format. For international requests, those made on the grounds of an MLAT should follow the procedures set out by said treaty. For requests that will be sent through diplomatic routes, overseas law enforcement agencies can confirm procedures with their country's government agency (e.g. the foreign affairs ministry), while procedures for requests to be sent via ICPO-INTERPOL can be confirmed with their country's police agency.

2. Can the data in question be preserved in advance for requests that will soon be made via MLATs, diplomatic routes, or ICPO-INTERPOL?

Yes, this is possible. Requests for data preservation can also be submitted beforehand through either an MLAT, diplomatic route, or ICPO-INTERPOL.

3. What is the approximate time frame between the request and disclosure of the information?

The time needed varies, and some cases may require several weeks. Additionally, international requests are more likely to require a longer time frame than domestic requests. The Company cannot guarantee the time frame between the request and disclosure.
Depending on the content of the request, the Company may charge the cost required for responding to the disclosure request.

4. How long is the communication-related information retained?

The specific retention period is undisclosed, but communication-related information is retained for the minimum amount of time needed by the service.

Last revised: October 2023