Japanese Government to Use AI to Combat Anime Pirate Sites

To combat the unauthorized distribution of manga and anime through piracy websites, Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs has unveiled plans to develop an advanced AI-powered detection system. This initiative aims to reduce financial losses and protect the intellectual property of creators.

The agency estimates that piracy websites cause annual financial damages exceeding 2 trillion yen (approximately $14 billion). The situation has worsened in 2023, with a sharp rise in new websites and user traffic, especially during the summer.

Japanese Government to Use AI to Combat Anime Pirate Sites

To address this growing problem, the Japanese government has allocated approximately 3 billion yen in this year’s supplementary budget. The funds will support the development of an AI system capable of automatically identifying piracy websites by analyzing characteristics such as layout, advertisements, and images of content provided by publishers.

Additionally, the initiative includes creating a streamlined process for rights holders to request the swift removal of detected pirated materials.

Advantages of AI Automation

Manually detecting piracy websites is costly and time-consuming. By leveraging AI, the agency aims to establish a more effective method to minimize illegal websites and strengthen copyright protections for creators and publishers.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs stated: “Identifying piracy websites manually is both expensive and limited in scope. We aim to build practical, high-impact measures to decrease piracy sites and protect rights holders.”

Source: Você Sabia Anime