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(AP photo) Japanese messaging app Line, owned by SoftBank Corp’s Z Holdings Corp, allowed Chinese engineers at a Shanghai affiliate to access data on Japanese users without seeking their consent, Japanese media reported on Wednesday. Under Japanese privacy regulations, companies have to inform users when their personal data is sent overseas, public broadcaster NHK said. “There hasn’t been anything that breached legal or regulatory boundaries,” a spokesman for Line said.” We will continue to respond to laws and regulations in all jurisdictions, including Japan.” Government officials responsible for overseeing privacy protection were not immediately available for comment. Four engineers at a company in China, who perform system maintenance for Line, were allowed to access servers in Japan from 2018 that contained the names, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of users, local media said.
TOKYO: Japanese messaging app
Line, owned by SoftBank Corp’s Z Holdings Corp, allowed Chinese engineers at a Shanghai affiliate to access data on Japanese users without gaining their consent, Japanese media reported on March 17.
“There hasn’t been anything that breached legal or regulatory boundaries,” a spokesman for Line said. “We always put ourselves to a standard were we want to be as transparent as possible.”
The reports come after Line this month became part of Z Holdings, formerly Yahoo Japan, creating a US$30bil (RM123.54bil) domestic Internet heavyweight to compete against local and US rivals.
Four engineers at a company in China that performs system development for Line were allowed to access servers that contained the names, phone numbers and e-mails of users, the
By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government said on Wedneseday it would investigate messaging app Line, owned by SoftBank Corp’s Z Holdings Corp, after Japanese media reports that it let Chinese engineers at a Shanghai affiliate access Japanese users’ data without informing them.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of free messaging app Line is pictured on a smartphone in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo, Japan September 23, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
Under Japanese privacy regulations, companies have to let users know when their personal data is sent overseas, public broadcaster pubic broadcaster NHK and other local media reported earlier.
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Japan messenger app Line let engineers in China access user data without consent -media Japanese messaging app Line, owned by SoftBank Corp s Z Holdings Corp, allowed Chinese engineers at a Shanghai affiliate to access data on Japanese users without gaining their consent, Japanese media reported on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of free messaging app Line is pictured on a smartphone and the company s stuffed toy in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 23, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/Illustration
17 Mar 2021 10:05AM Share this content