Handling Instagram 'Impersonation': Explaining the Procedure for Disclosing IP Addresses

Recently, as the use of SNS (Social Networking Services) has become widespread, the number of cases of ‘impersonation’ on SNS has been increasing, and Instagram is no exception. Our firm has successfully requested the disclosure of IP addresses to identify the posters involved in the so-called ‘impersonation’ on Instagram.

The purpose of ‘impersonation’ varies, it can be for harassment or for criminal purposes such as fraud. Regardless of the perpetrator’s intent, it is extremely dangerous to ignore impersonation.

On Instagram, ‘impersonation’ is prohibited. However, even if you report the problem, the impersonation account may not necessarily be deleted, and in some cases, new accounts are created repeatedly, leading to a game of whack-a-mole. For malicious ‘impersonation’, it is necessary to request the disclosure of IP addresses to identify and track down the perpetrator.

What is Identity Spoofing?

“Identity spoofing” refers to the act of creating an account on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, pretending to be someone else, and making posts.

Being a victim of “identity spoofing” is something that is difficult to forgive in any way. However, to remove the posts or identify the poster through litigation or provisional measures, it is not enough to simply claim, “I have been impersonated.” To remove the posts or identify the perpetrator, you must consistently assert that “my rights have been violated.”

What Rights are Violated by Identity Spoofing?

When you are a victim of “identity spoofing,” what rights can you claim have been violated? In the case of identity spoofing on Instagram, issues such as infringement of the right to honor, right to likeness, copyright, and privacy rights arise.

For example, a typical case of defamation (infringement of the right to honor) is posting false facts such as “Person A is embezzling company money” on an anonymous bulletin board. However, if a “spoofed” account using Person. A’s name posts “I am embezzling company money,” it is essentially the same as saying “Person. A is embezzling company money.” Therefore, this “spoofing” is, in essence, an infringement of the right to honor, just like posting “Person. A is embezzling company money” on an anonymous bulletin board.

If Your Photo is Posted Without Permission, You Can Claim Copyright Infringement

In particular, if your photos are used for identity spoofing, you can claim infringement of the right to likeness and copyright. In other words, you own the copyright to the photos you have taken, and the perpetrator of the “spoofing” is publishing those photos without obtaining your permission, the copyright holder.

https://monolith.law/reputation/spoofing-dentityright (ja)

When your copyright, right to honor, etc., are violated by “identity spoofing,” you can use this as a basis to seek a provisional measure to disclose the IP address for identifying the poster.

Impersonation Account Removal

If you are not seeking to identify the perpetrator but simply wish to delete the account, you can easily submit a deletion request from the user’s profile screen on Instagram, citing a violation of Instagram’s terms of service.

Instagram’s operators tend to respond quickly to issues of impersonation, and in many cases, they will take action if a deletion request is submitted.

However, this is strictly a claim of “violation of terms of service”. While this method allows you to request the deletion of the account, it does not allow for the disclosure of the IP address necessary to identify the perpetrator. In order to identify the perpetrator, it is necessary to request the disclosure of the IP address through a provisional disposition procedure.

Identifying Offenders through Sender Information Disclosure Requests

To identify the perpetrator of an impersonation, we use a method called “sender information disclosure request” through provisional disposition procedures. This is a request for the disclosure of information about the offender (sender) who infringes on rights. It is a demand to Instagram’s management to disclose any information they have about the impersonator.

https://monolith.law/Japanese Provider Liability Limitation Law (ja)

In the case of Instagram, this request is usually made through the courts using a procedure called “provisional disposition”. Therefore,

1. First, we request the disclosure of the offender’s IP address with Instagram as the defendant
2. Next, we request the disclosure of the offender’s name and address with the provider that the offender was using (such as Nifty for fixed lines or Docomo for mobile lines) as the defendant

This is the procedure for identifying the offender.

There is also the question of “Can we request the disclosure of the IP address after deleting the account through methods such as violation of the above terms of use?”. We have a separate article that explains this issue in detail.

https://monolith.law/Japanese Identifying Contributors After Deletion (ja)

The Respondent in Provisional Dispositions

Although we have referred to the “operator of Instagram” above, who exactly is this entity?

The developer of Instagram is Instagram LLC, but it was acquired by Facebook, Inc. in 2012. As of July 2018, the operating name and data management of Instagram were changed to Facebook, Inc. Therefore, currently, it is not Instagram LLC but Facebook, Inc. that is the respondent in provisional dispositions for IP address disclosure requests.

Dealing with Facebook, Inc., a Foreign Corporation

Facebook, Inc., the company that operates Instagram, is a foreign corporation. When initiating provisional dispositions or lawsuits, it is necessary to submit the corporate registration of the opposing party to the court. Therefore, the question arises as to how to obtain the corporate registration of Facebook, Inc. In Japan, you can obtain corporate registration at the Legal Affairs Bureau, but for foreign corporations, you must obtain registration in different ways depending on the country or state. In the case of Facebook, Inc., as it is a corporation in California, you will need to use the California corporate registration system to obtain registration data.

Furthermore, there is also the question of whether it is possible to conduct provisional dispositions or lawsuits against foreign corporations in Japanese courts. This issue is referred to in legal terms as “international jurisdiction”. In conclusion, it is possible to do so in Japanese courts. Businesses that provide services in Japanese for Japanese people are considered “those conducting business in Japan”, and lawsuits against such businesses are considered “claims related to business in Japan”. This is recognized by the international jurisdiction under Article 3-3, Paragraph 5 of the Japanese Civil Procedure Law (民事訴訟法３条の３第５号). Therefore, for provisional dispositions against such businesses, international jurisdiction is recognized under Article 11 of the Japanese Civil Preservation Law (民事保全法第11条), and it is possible to file for provisional dispositions in Japanese courts.

https://monolith.law/reputation/against-facebook-amazon (ja)

Provisional Disposition Procedure Regarding Instagram Posts

If the provisional disposition acknowledges that “the content of the post is illegal”, you can obtain a decision to approve the request for disclosure of the IP address, and you will receive the disclosure of the IP address from the other party. Based on this information, the next step is to conduct a lawsuit against the provider to identify the post.

https://monolith.law/reputation/disclosure-of-the-senders-information (ja)

https://monolith.law/reputation/difficulty-in-identifying-criminals-on-twitter (ja)

Summary

Impersonation is a dangerous act that can lead to criminal behavior if left unchecked. Furthermore, the potential for significant loss to the victim is high, so immediate action is necessary. Our firm has the expertise to handle IP address disclosure in cases of impersonation on Instagram. We encourage you to consult with us as soon as possible if you encounter such issues.