China-based manga piracy website forced to shut down: Report

A China-based manga piracy website has been forced to shut down after a criminal complaint was filed with Chinese authorities, multiple reports said.

Japan’s anti-piracy coalition, Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), worked with cyber security experts to identify the operator of Bato.To.

It is believed to be one of the world's biggest manga piracy sites and the illegally uploaded content included Japanese manga, reports www3.nhk.or.jp. CODA says the site had 60 domains and was accessed up to 350 million times a month.

Reports said that Bato.to’s operator has since been released on bail and is expected to be formally indicted. Bato’s operator was reportedly making over $57,000 a month in illicit advertising revenue.

According to the coalition, the website “obtained illegally uploaded manga for scanning and translating comic books. The site is said to have had content in about 50 languages.

The problem of copyright piracy is getting worse as translation has been made easier through the widespread use of artificial intelligence. Goto Takero, CODA Representative Director, was quoted as saying that his group will continue to tackle the problem in view of the global popularity of Japanese manga.