kakaotalk

Cyberbullying, including ostracism and harassment

Kakao does not allow cyber violence such as group bullying, harassment, or stalking via kakaoTalk. Bullying, harassment, and other cyber violence make a person feel depressed and psychologically distressed while threatening one’s safety. If continuously repeated, they may take a victim to the extreme.

Kakao shall not be able to check service usage or history of conversations between users even if any damage occurs to them according to the principle of privacy and freedom of communication stipulated in the Constitution. As a result, any message or claim reported by complainants may not be enough to address the problem of bullying or harassment. Even in such cases, however, you can still protect yourself by taking full advantage of the following tools that Kakao provides:

• Are you continuously invited to a group chat room you don't want? Learn more about Decline an Invite from or leave a Group Chat Room
• Are you continuously receiving messages from a contact you don’t want? Learn more about Block a person with whom you don’t want to chat
• Did you post an article that may harm your reputation, including false stories or rumors, or upload photos/videos or personal information on the areas where other users can also see them, such as a board? Learn more about Rights Infringement Notice

Kakao wants all its users to enjoy the KakaoTalk services in a sound and safe manner and continues to complement its technology and policies to protect its users from cyber violence.

Ostracism and harassment

Kakao recognizes bullying and harassment via KakaoTalk as a serious social problem and seriously takes perpetrating school violence using KakaoTalk. If you have been bullied on KakaoTalk, please ask your parents, teachers, and other adults around you to help you out.

Kakao opposes the following examples of harassment using KakaoTalk. If Kakao receives a report from a victim who has been bullied continuously and repeatedly, it will closely review the report and may restrict the reported user from using part of the KakaoTalk services if it is deemed necessary for protecting the victim.

• Continue to invite the relevant user not to make him/her leave the group chat room
• Leave the group chat room all at once after inviting the relevant user
• Invite the relevant user to a group chat room and ignore him/her unconditionally
• Invite the relevant user to a group chat room and swear words in the group or share humiliating photos/videos
• Invite the relevant user to a group chat room to paralyze his/her phone by transmitting meaningless messages
• Distribute personal information of the relevant user in a group chat room or post that many users can view
• Ask, force, and extort the relevant user for money or convenience
• Force the relevant user to transfer or share his/her Kakao account

Cyberstalking

Kakao does not allow cyberstalking via kakaoTalk.

Kakao defines an act of causing anxiety or fear to the other person by having objects, words, signs, sounds, pictures, images, and videos reach the person or his/her partner or family members via KakaoTalk without any justifiable reasons by means listed below as “cyberstalking.”

• Send messages continuously by changing accounts, even though the sender was blocked
• Post the reporter’s personal information, including contact or address, to the areas that other users can view or transmit such information via text message to induce others to visit the reporter’s place or call the reporter
• Distribute facts, pictures, or images related to the reporter
• Use the KakaoTalk internal services (ex. Gifts, Order, etc.) to send goods or messages repeatedly against the reporter’s will
• Any other action that may cause anxiety or fear to the reporter

If Kakao receives a report from a victim who has been stalked continuously and repeatedly, it will closely review the report and may restrict the reported user from using part of the KakaoTalk services when deemed necessary for protecting the victim. Criminal acts and conspiracies, etc.