Anime, Webtoon Pirates Targeted in Big Brazilian Raid

When publishers in Japan said they were ready to fight piracy on a global level, the companies were not kidding. In the past year, a slew of reports have surfaced across America to China regarding piracy raids. Some of the biggest names in anime have teamed up with manga and webtoon publishers to deter piracy. And now, a new report from Brazil says some locals were targeted for piracy in a new raid.

The update comes from Brazil's government webpage as the Ministry of Justice and Public Security posted an overview. A few days ago, the organization said police in five different cities carried out a major phase of Operation Anime, a mission created by authorities to crack down on piracy.

"On Thursday (25), the second phase of Operation Anime [was carried out] to repress any crimes being committed against intellectual property online, specifically content related to Japanese and Korean animated projects," the summary shared.

"Eleven search and seizure warrants were served... in addition to the de-indexing of content in Brazilian search engines. The reason we seized equipment such as hard drives and other computer devices are to prove crimes were committed," the note continues. "In Brazil, the penalty for those who commit these crimes is prions from two to four years, and a fine."

This is not the first time pirates have been pursued globally for infringing on anime, manga, or webtoons. Back in March, several locals in China were convicted for operating the nation's largest anime piracy site. The conviction marked the first time someone outside if Japan was convicted of anime piracy on behest of creators. Now, it seems Brazil has joined the list, and anti-piracy efforts are only going to expand from here.

What do you think about this piracy update? Let us know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!