Japan: Guidance issued by Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication as part of ongoing investigation into LINE for allegedly illegal data transfer

On 26 April 2021, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC) provided the LINE messaging app with written guidance concerning the allegedly illegal data transfer on 17 March 2018. The MIC had opened an investigation on 19 March 2021 which included a request for information. After this request was duly fulfilled by LINE on 19 March 2021, the MIC has now released this guidance in light of certain inadequate security control measures. These measures are not only inadequate when it comes to the internal systems, but also in regard to the explanations to users. The MIC alleges LINE has made personal user information stored on a server in Japan accessible to an affiliated company in China.