Recent news that employees at Line Corp.’s affiliate in China had access to a trove of user information has revealed the messaging app operator’s lax management of sensitive data.

But not only that, it has also shown that international companies handling such data across borders need to be aware of privacy legislation in other countries — in this case, China — that could trigger national security concerns, experts say.

“We have caused users inconvenience and worry, and we take it very seriously that we betrayed the trust of a lot of people,” Line CEO Takeshi Idezawa said at a news conference Tuesday.