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 in 2014. (Reuters photo)
TOKYO: The Japanese government has decided to temporarily halt its use of popular messaging app Line, owned by SoftBank Corp’s Z Holdings, to handle sensitive information, chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato said on Monday.
The decision comes after domestic media reports this month that four engineers at a Line affiliate in Shanghai were allowed to access servers in Japan from 2018 that contained the names, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of users.
Following the reports, a spokesman for Line, which has 186 million users worldwide, said the company has since blocked access to user data at the Chinese affiliate.
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