Operation Policy
Suicide and self-injury
Kakao does not allow users to distribute any information related to suicide or self-injury to protect the precious lives of KakaoTalk users and create a culture of reverence for life.
If you are suffering from melancholia or depression, we ask you to stop suffering alone and receive help from suicide prevention agencies to save your precious life.
Kakao cooperates with emergency services specified in the ACT ON THE PREVENTION OF SUICIDE AND THE CREATION OF A CULTURE OF RESPECT FOR LIFE to protect its users’ life and body if receiving a request to provide information on any of the following users who is at risk of committing suicide from the aforementioned services. If you find any user who is exposed to or is at risk of suicide while using the KakaoTalk services, please submit the report to emergency services such as the police or fire service after reporting the case quickly via the Report function in the service to safeguard a precious life.
- A user who expresses a suicide intent or plan
- A user who recruits suicide partners
- A user who is determined to commit suicide by purchasing goods (charcoal briquette, pesticides, herbicides, insecticide, etc.) or expressing their intention to purchase them
“Information that induces suicide or self-harm” refers to content that actively encourages suicide or self-harming behavior or is used to facilitate such actions. If Kakao identifies, through user reports or other methods, any type of information that induces suicide or self-harm within KakaoTalk service areas that are accessible to all users, it may take a series of applicable measures to ensure user safety. These actions may include restricting search result visibility, limiting content exposure, restricting access to chatrooms, or limiting the use of certain KakaoTalk services.
- Information on seeking companions for suicide or self-harm
- Information providing specific methods for suicide or self-harm
- Documents, photos, or videos containing content that executes or encourages suicide or self-harm
- Information regarding the sale or use of items intended for suicide or self-harm
- Information that encourages or glorifies eating disorders (e.g., anorexia, bulimia)
- Any other information that is similar to the above items and is intended to incite suicide or self-harm
Users are free to share and discuss their own or others’ experiences and opinions regarding mental health topics, such as depression, in KakaoTalk Open Chat rooms. However, sharing information that actively encourages suicide or self-harm or that may be used to facilitate such actions is strictly prohibited.
Open chatrooms or open profiles that aim to disseminate information falling under the category of “distribution of information that incites suicide or self-harm,” or that share content which may assist, entice, or incite suicide or self-harm, may have their visibility in search results restricted. To prevent further dissemination or harmful activity, access to such open chatrooms may be restricted, and the use of the chatroom may be limited.