Updated Feb. 2020
Bigo Live will respond to law enforcement and other legal requests for user data in accordance with its Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and this Policy. Nothing in this Policy is meant to create any enforceable rights against Bigo Live. Bigo Live’s policies may be updated or changed in the future without further notice to the relevant government or law enforcement authorities.
Law Enforcement Requests
Bigo Live will consider the following requests related to users' data:
1. Data Requests. With the exception of Emergency Requests (as described in paragraph 2 below), all requests for user data must be properly served through valid legal process. We will respond to such requests as required by law. Data requests that we will consider include, but are not limited to:
a. a valid subpoena issued in connection with an official criminal investigation is required to compel the disclosure of basic subscriber information, which may include: name, phone number, email address, profile photo, interests, age, gender, hometown, education, occupation, and any recent login/logout IP address(es), if available;
b. a valid court order is required to compel the disclosure of certain records or other information pertaining to the account, not including contents of communications, which may include message headers and IP addresses, in addition to the basic subscriber information identified above;
c. a valid warrant, including a search warrant, issued under applicable criminal and/or civil law procedures upon a showing of probable cause is required to compel the disclosure of the stored contents of any account, which may include messages, photos, videos, comments, and location information;
d. requests issued pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (“MLAT”) where such requests have been issued in accordance with the prescribed process, as applicable to the relevant MLAT; and
e. requests from any jurisdictions where we have a good-faith belief that a response is required by law in that jurisdiction, the affected users are in that jurisdiction, and the request is consistent with internationally recognized standards.
2. Emergency Requests. We will respond to requests for user data in situations that we believe in good faith may involve a real and imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm, harm to a minor or other exigent danger as we may determine if we do not respond without delay. Such emergency requests must be submitted by a law enforcement officer and signed under penalty of perjury using Emergency Request Form. If you are not a law enforcement agent and are aware of an emergency situation, please notify your local law enforcement officials. If we choose to make such a disclosure, we will only disclose the user information needed to resolve the emergency. All emergency disclosures must be approved by the Bigo Live Legal Team whose contact details are set out below.
3. Preservation Requests. We will also consider requests to preserve a user's existing data in connection with official criminal investigations or other official legal proceeding. If we deem the preservation request valid, we will maintain a user's existing data for 30 days or longer period, pending service of a formal data request. The preservation hold may also be further extended as permitted under applicable law.
4. Other Information Requests. We will consider non-law enforcement requests for information including requests from regulatory agencies and tax authorities. Such requests can be made by contacting the Bigo Live Legal Team at legal@bigo.tv.
Request Contents
All requests must be sent on official government/law enforcement letterhead and include all of the following information:
1. Original copy of the valid legal process, if applicable
2. Agency Name
3. Agent Name
4. Agent Badge/Identification Number
5. Agent Employer-Issued Email Address
6. Agent Direct Phone Number
7. Agent Mailing Address
8. Requested Response Date
9. A specific user's Bigo Live ID or user id ("UID")
10. The specific information requested
We will reject requests that do not include the above information. We will also reject requests that we believe are not facially or substantively valid or if we believe the requests are overly broad, vague, unclear, or unduly burdensome. If the formal request is not in English, we encourage the law enforcement agencies to provide an English translation. Absent exceptional circumstances we will not disclose more user information than is necessary to comply with a valid request which Bigo Live is obliged to comply with as a matter of law.
Communications with Users
Bigo Live's policy is to notify users of requests for their information prior to disclosure except (i) where providing such notice is prohibited by the valid legal process, court order, or applicable law, (ii) where notice could create a risk of injury or death to an identifiable individual(s), or (iii) cases that involve potential harm to minors. If a data request includes a nondisclosure order, Bigo Live will notify the affected user as soon as the order is overturned or expires on its own terms.
User Consent
If a law enforcement official requests information about a user who has provided consent for the official to access or obtain the user’s account information, the user should be directed to obtain that information on their own from their account.
Legal Process
We encourage law enforcement agencies to contact us via email at legal@bigo.tv regarding the availability of user information before serving the formal request. Data requests may be served by certified mail, express courier, or in person at the following location:
Bigo Technology Pte. Ltd.
Attention: Legal Team
30 Pasir Panjang Road #15-31A
Mapletree Business City, Singapore 117440
Acceptance of legal process by any of these means is for convenience and does not waive any objections, including lack of jurisdiction or improper service. We are unable to process data requests served via email.
We may provide a certificate of authentication, but we generally are not able to provide in-person or expert witness testimony.
Costs
Bigo Live may seek reimbursement for costs associated with responding to law enforcement requests for information as permitted by law and may charge additional fees for costs incurred in responding to unusual or burdensome requests.
Legal Enforcement Practice Questions & Answers
1. Should we cooperate if any of the information required for the requests, as set out in the Request Contents Column in the Law Enforcement Request Policy (“Policy”), is missing?
We need to check carefully if all the information set out in the Policy is provided. If any essential information is missing, we may decide to request the relevant agency to supplement with the missing part. If the information is not sufficient for us to check, we may ignore the request.
2. Should we cooperate if the relevant agents fail to provide official documentation of a data request? Consider that such agents simply write an email to request for users’ data.
In general, valid, official documentation of a data request should be provided prior to disclosing user data unless it is an emergency situation, in which case law enforcement should still provide a completed emergency request form. If the request came via email without any official documentation, we may not cooperate with the request.
3. If a local law enforcement agent requests our local presence to provide data, does such local presence need to cooperate or direct it to Bigo Tech?
Whether a local presence would be required to cooperate with a local law enforcement request would depend on whether such local presence has possession, custody, or control of the requested information. This determination will depend on a number of factors, such as whether the local presence has technical access to the data, the local presence accesses the data in the ordinary course of its business, and its ties with Bigo Tech. If the local presence does not have possession, custody, or control of the data, it should comply with the request by reporting that it does not have responsive data. This local presence may also direct law enforcement agent to Bigo Tech.
4. Should we require the law enforcement agent to deliver hard copy documents prior to cooperation?
While hard copy documents may be easier to review for authenticity, if a law enforcement agency provides the information requested by the policy and provides an electronic copy of the required legal process that appears to be valid, we would not have concerns with cooperating with the request. This would also apply in emergency situations if the law enforcement agency provides an electronic copy of the emergency request form with official documentations.
Emergency Request Form
|
Requestor Information |
|
|---|---|
| Agency Name | |
| Agent Name | |
| Agent Badge or Identification Number | |
| Agent Employer-Issued Email Address | |
| Agent Direct Phone Number | |
|
Request Details |
|
| Detailed description of the nature of the emergency and why the threat is real and imminent (i.e., why there is a potential for imminent serious bodily harm or death or harm to a minor) | |
| User account identifiers (e.g., Bigo Live or Likee ID ) | |
| Detailed explanation of information needed to resolve emergency (i.e., how will the requested information help to prevent the harm) |
I declare, under penalty of perjury, that to the best of my knowledge, the foregoing is true and correct.
Signature:
Date: