Operation Anime Phase 2: New Anti-Piracy Crackdown Executed in Brazil

Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Public Security has announced a second phase of Operation Anime, an initiative to disrupt piracy of Japanese anime and Korean webtoon content. This second wave follows the first which took place close to a year ago. In coordination with Japan-based anti-piracy group CODA and COA based in South Korea, authorities conducted 11 search and seizure warrants in five regions. No sites have been named but domains appeared to have been seized.

In February 2023, Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security revealed an extension to Operation 404, an ongoing anti-piracy operation to disrupt websites and apps involved in online piracy.

The purpose of 404-offshoot Operation Anime was to “suppress crimes committed against intellectual property” with a specific focus on piracy of Japanese cartoons, better known as anime. Several sites were shut down including goyabu.com and animeyabu.com.

Close to a year later, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed a new phase of Operation Anime with a new partner appearing for the first time in 2024.

Operation Anime Phase 2: Japan Joined By Korea

The announcement confirms that the goal of Operation Anime Phase 2 remains unchanged for 2024 and Japan-based anti-piracy group Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) still features prominently.

A change comes in the form of a new partner, South Korea-based Copyright Overseas Promotion Association (COA), which aims to suppress piracy of animated content, known locally as webtoons, on behalf of companies such as Kakao, Webtoon, and many others.

In the latest operation, authorities in Brazil report that police in five regions – Alagoas, Ceará, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, and São Paulo – executed 11 home search and seizure warrants this week. The objective was to seize computer equipment containing evidence to show involvement in intellectual property crimes.

The Ministry of Justice reports that two websites were “blocked and/or suspended” but didn’t officially name either. Based on information obtained from other sources, at this point, we feel confident enough to name one as definitely shut down

Animetvonline.cx

The search and seizure warrants covering Ceará were coordinated by the Cybercrime Repression Police Station (DRCC), with support from the Operational Center of the Specialized Judiciary Police Department (DPJE) and the Crateús Regional Police Station.

The target was a 26-year-old man, alleged to be the operator of a pirate site receiving around 1.2 million visitors per month. At the man’s home in Planalto Crateús, police seized cell phones, computers, hard drives, and other IT equipment.

As data from SimilarWeb shows, Animetvonline.cx had around 1.2m visits per month. In Google search, the site is now listed as “closed due to copyright infringement” and if one clicks through, a seizure banner hosted on CODA’s website confirms it ran into terminal trouble.

With animetvonline.cx as a starting point, other domains start to show up that also appear to have been seized. They include animetvonline.xyz (zero traffic), animesbr.cc (3.4m), animesone.cc (60K), and animesonline.one (zero). These have links to animetvonline.cx but exactly when they were seized isn’t clear.

Other information points to the shutdown of anime.vision and potentially a handful of others, but there’s not enough solid evidence to show anything beyond coincidental downtime.

The action was coordinated by the Directorate of Integrated Operations and Intelligence (Diopi), through the Cyber Operations Laboratory (Ciberlab), of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP).

CODA and COA signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2017 and have been working together ever since to protect content overseas, including in Brazil.

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