Thailand’s 33 million LINE users are monitored by the government

The parent company of the Line (035420) mobile-chat application denied press reports in Thailand that the military government is monitoring messages sent through the service. “No monitoring by the Thailand government has been conducted,” Nam Ji Woong, a spokesman for South Korea-based Naver Corp., which owns Line Corp., said by e-mail today. “Line considers consumers’ privacy as a top priority.” The government was monitoring more than 40 million messages sent via Line each day, Khaosod newspaper reported, citing Pornchai Rujiprapa, Thailand’s minister of information, communication, and technology. Pornchai said the ministry could see what messages were being forwarded and was focusing on those deemed libelous, anti-monarchy or threatening national security, the report said.