Kakao blocks 240 million illegal webtoons and novels in six months

Kakao Entertainment announced on the 26th that it has published the sixth illegal distribution response white paper, focusing on 'building a comprehensive response system for illegal distribution of webtoons and web novels.'

This white paper expands its capabilities for addressing infringements, moving beyond its previous focus on illegal webtoons. It includes achievements in blocking over 240 million global illegal materials over the past six months, the process of enhancing the web novel illegal distribution enforcement process utilizing its status as a Google Trusted Content Removal Partner, and results from enforcing against illegal derivative works.

Initially, Kakao Entertainment had been conducting blocking activities targeting webtoons but built a comprehensive enforcement system for webtoons and web novels for the first time in the industry last year. Peacock began pilot enforcement targeting Kakao Entertainment's exclusive web novels and cracked down on about 150,000 cases of global illegal distribution over three months from October to December last year.

In this process, the types of illegal materials were subdivided, and substantive blocking activities were initiated. In addition, in December, operators of the English-language web novel illegal site 'W' were specifically identified and the site was closed, while concentrated enforcement was carried out on illegal materials spread across North American open platforms, e-commerce platforms, blogs, and web novel illegal translator channels.

Text-based web novels have more extensive illegal distribution routes compared to webtoons. As such, corporations have limitations when enforcing through external monitoring companies. However, Trusted Content Removal Partners have the authority to swiftly process large numbers of illegal material reports.

As an intellectual property (IP) rights holder, Kakao Entertainment directly reported and deleted about 539,000 global illegal materials, including 150,000 web novels, after acquiring Trusted Content Removal Partner status in July last year. As of October last year, it holds the authority to report 30,000 illegal materials daily, a number that has increased 30 times compared to before acquiring Trusted Content Removal Partner status.

Achievements in blocking global illegal materials in webtoons and web novels continue. Over the last six months, Kakao Entertainment has blocked a total of over 240 million global illegal materials. The cumulative number of blocks reported in the first to sixth white papers amounts to over 740 million.

The number of enforcements reported in the sixth white paper reflects about a 10.9% decrease compared to the blocking results recorded in the fifth white paper during the first half of last year. However, the closure of large domestic illegal sites, which Peacock had been monitoring persistently since August of last year, seems to have had an impact. Additionally, the statistics are also interpreted to be influenced by the closure of an Indonesian site in September last year and the suspension of activities by a Brazilian illegal translation group in October last year.

The number of illegal content deletions reported in the Google Transparency Report has also significantly increased. The Google Transparency Report transparently discloses information about content deletion requests from global governments and institutions to promote a safer internet environment. Kakao Entertainment ranked sixth globally in content deletion reports as of December last year.

Additionally, Kakao Entertainment systematically classified illegal derivative works into categories such as books, photo cards, posters, mobile phone cases, and clothing, achieving results by detecting and deleting secondarily created works that illegally utilized Kakao Entertainment IP, including illegal goods from webtoons that were distributed via global e-commerce platforms.

Lee Ho-jun, head of the legal department at Kakao Entertainment overseeing Peacock, said, 'We started as the industry's first illegal distribution response organization, and now we have established ourselves as a team that develops and shares the most advanced methods for illegal distribution response in the industry.' He noted, 'In particular, with the sixth white paper as a turning point, this is the first time in the industry that we have systematized our capabilities for responding to illegal distribution of webtoons and web novels.'