WEBTOON declares war on piracy

WEBTOON|| , one of the most popular webcomics platforms worldwide, which has more than 170 million monthly active users, has decided to strengthen its fight against digital piracy through a series of new legal actions taken in August. WEBTOON Entertainment, based in South Korea and a subsidiary of Naver Corporation, has been known for revolutionizing the way readers around the world consume comics, offering a wide range of content in digital format ranging from romance to action and fantasy. . However, the platform's exponential growth has also attracted the attention of digital pirates who operate unauthorized websites, allowing users to access copyrighted content for free.

©WEBTOON Entertainment

In an effort to mitigate the impact of piracy, WEBTOON is seeking to identify more than 170 pirate site operators through new subpoena requests under the Digital Age Copyright Act (DMCA). . These requests were filed this month in federal court in Texas, representing a significant step in the fight against unauthorized distribution of digital content. As reported by Torrent Freak , one of the leading digital rights news sites, these subpoenas were sent to renowned domain registrar and content delivery service provider, Cloudflare.

Cloudflare, a San Francisco-based company, is widely known for its crucial role in securing and speeding up millions of websites around the world. However, its position as an intermediary in the internet infrastructure also makes it a key target for companies seeking to protect their copyrights. In this case, WEBTOON's anti-piracy partner, Remove Your Media, explained in court documents: “ The purpose of the subpoena is to obtain the identity of the alleged copyright infringers who control the domains/websites listed in the subpoena. The information obtained will be used solely to protect the rights granted to our client .”

Although many operators of these websites tend to hide their identity through domain privacy services or using false information, which reduces the effectiveness of subpoena requests, WEBTOON is determined to move forward with this strategy. Cloudflare, for its part, has stated on several occasions that, although its primary role is to protect its customers' infrastructure, it is willing to cooperate with rights holders when legitimate requests are made. This includes the ability to suspend or close websites that infringe copyright, especially if the domains have been purchased directly through their services. Additionally, in the event that sites are not registered directly with Cloudflare, the company may provide rights holders with the information necessary to contact the relevant registrar or, in some cases, provide sensitive data such as source IP addresses, which could be crucial in tracking down offenders.

©Administrative Office of the US Courts on behalf of the Federal Judiciary

Among the websites that have been the target of these subpoena requests are some of the most visited by consumers of pirate content, with millions of monthly visits. For example, asuratoon.com has 56 million monthly visits according to Similarweb data, while mangafire.to reaches 26.6 million visits , followed by Bato.to with 25.2 million . Other notable sites include Mangareader.to with 10.6 million visits , mangakakalot.tv with 9.2 million , mangadex.tv with 4.8 million and mangatx.to with 6.6 million , which together add up to more than 100 million monthly visits. These numbers show the magnitude of the problem and the reason why WEBTOON has intensified its efforts to protect its intellectual property.

In addition to legal action, rights holders are seeking to better understand consumer behavior around piracy. Shueisha, one of the largest manga publishers in Japan and a member of CODA, recently launched a survey through its MANGA Plus app, aimed at understanding users' reading habits when it comes to legal and illegal media. This survey reflects publishers' interest in understanding why readers turn to pirated media and how they can improve the legal experience to reduce dependence on pirate sites.

The fight against digital piracy is an ongoing battle involving multiple actors around the world. With its recent legal actions, WEBTOON not only seeks to protect its rights, but also send a clear message to operators of pirate sites: the digital entertainment industry is willing to use all resources at its disposal to protect its intellectual property and ensure that content creators receive the compensation they deserve for their work.

The full list of sites includes: