70 sites shut down by U.S. subpoena action
Combined annual traffic of blocked sites surpasses 1.3 billion, ⓒNAVER Webtoon, ‘[Dailyan = Reporter Lee Joo-eun] NAVER Webtoon announced on the 26th that over 70 illegal overseas webtoon sites have ceased operations due to subpoena issuance through a U.S. court.’,
‘This achievement follows the first-ever subpoena action in the industry last year, which halted over 150 illegal webtoon sites.’,
‘The subpoena action is based on the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), allowing copyright holders to request that service providers submit personal information of suspected copyright infringers.’,
‘Information identified through subpoenas, such as addresses, emails, and payment details, is crucial for tracking and apprehending operators of illegal sites. NAVER Webtoon shares all information that aids in tracking illegal webtoon site operators with law enforcement agencies.’,
‘NAVER Webtoon issued subpoenas to a major content delivery network (CDN) and two domain registration agencies for this action. So far, around 70 illegal webtoon sites have been fully removed or temporarily shut down.’,
‘According to traffic statistics site “SimilarWeb”, the annual user visit traffic affected by this subpoena action exceeds 1.3 billion for the 70-plus illegal webtoon sites.’,
‘Additionally, NAVER Webtoon continues to take measures to protect the creative ecosystem and minimize damage to creators caused by illegal webtoon sites as part of its “WebtoonWith” creative ecosystem support program.’,
‘Gyu-nam Kim, Vice President (CRO) of NAVER Webtoon, stated, “NAVER Webtoon will continue its relentless fight against illegal webtoon and web novel sites worldwide, adhering to a strict zero-tolerance policy,” and added, “We will spare no effort and investment in protecting the creative ecosystem.”