Withanimepiracy becoming more and more widespread over the years, taking away billions from economies, it seems like there are about to be some radical changes in the United States soon regarding how to combat it. This is yet another development from countries all around the world trying to tackle this tough issue, and it will mark a major milestone.
In an interview with Congressman Darrell Issa (R) of California’s 48th congressional district,The Anklerreported that a meeting was held on Friday where top Hollywood and tech executives such as Amazon, Disney, Google and more discussed the growing threat of foreign piracy and how to curb it. Issa reports that they were all in agreement with Issa’s latest strategy. Calling it “judicial blocking”, Issa’s strategy is to restrict access to certain sites and URLs, and not detain or prosecute owners of foreign piracy sites. Titled theAmerican Copyright Protection Act,this is a major move that will help reduce the effects of piracy in America if ratified.
The American Government Could Make Moves To Hault Anime Piracy
Issa’s piracy plan targets foreign sites, which account for the majority of piracy offenses. While U.S. law restricts site blocking due to First Amendment protections, countries like the U.K., Singapore, and Canada have laws allowing quicker blocking orders. Issa aims to cut off foreign pirates’ access to distribution and revenue without prosecuting individuals while protecting ISPs from liability. Streaming has made piracy easier, with foreign sites increasingly bypassing U.S. law enforcement. Piracy costs the U.S. economy $29.2 billion annually, while AI-driven piracy is growing more sophisticated and harder to combat.
It’s Not House of the Dragon, the Most-Pirated Shows of 2024 Were All Anime
While one might expect that hits like Shogun would be one of the most pirated series of 2024, the stats paint a different picture.
Piracy in general has spiked in recent years, but anime piracy in particular is the biggest and had the most dramatic increase. The most pirated series of 2024 were majority anime, with the medium holding 8 of the top 10 spots and beating out giants like Shogun and The Boys. Furthermore, one of the most popular anime piracy sites,Hianime, had more monthly visitors than even Disney Plusand Peacock, which speaks to how rampant this problem has become.
Piracy Is Going To Be Curbed
Authorities Globally Are Taking A Stance
While it is still at the beginning stage, this bill could change everything and strengthen America’s lax regulations, at least compared to other countries. With Japan and America now intensifying the war on piracy in recent months, there will be more regulations and developments that punish and restrict piracy in the future, which can only be described as good for the industry.
