TOKYO (Reuters) - 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.
"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."

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

WATCH | Click on Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

The reports come after Line this month became part of Z Holdings, formerly Yahoo Japan, creating a $30 billion domestic internet heavyweight to compete against local and U.S. 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 Asahi newspaper said.
Messages themselves can only be read by the sender and receiver as Line, like other messaging apps, encrypts message content end to end.
Z Holdings is controlled by SoftBank Corp through holding company A Holdings, which is jointly owned by SoftBank Corp and South Korea`s Naver Corp, the former operator of Line.
Z Holdings announced the Line tie-up last year but was delayed from October because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shares of Z Holdings dipped 2% in morning trade to 605.5 yen, compared with the Tokyo exchange`s TOPIX index which was flat.
 

 

The story has been taken from a news agency