Combating online piracy remains a significant issue for digital platforms – and new figures from NAVER WEBTOON now show the impact of such measures. We summarize.
AI system has an impact
According to its own information, NAVER WEBTOON was able to significantly curb the spread of illegal content with its in-house AI-supported system “Toon Radar”, which can successfully trace the first leaker of a respective digital comic using invisible identification data.
In this way, illegal copies can be proactively prevented before they spread widely – and the results are impressive.
The number of chapters leaked within the first 24 hours of release is said to have decreased by approximately 90 percent by the end of the first quarter of 2026. The resulting delay in the availability of new chapters on piracy websites would also mean that more readers would switch to the official platform.
For many “top titles,” the number of paid transactions increased by an average of 23 percent. Some plants were even able to achieve increases of up to 60 percent.
Faster availability
NAVER WEBTOON has also been testing new publishing models for some time, including simultaneous publication in multiple languages, eliminating waiting times for international readers.
According to the company, some titles increased their sales by more than 200 percent as a result of this measure, as more users were willing to take advantage of the official offers due to faster availability.
At the same time, legal action is also being taken against illegal platforms and several websites have already been shut down.
Online piracy remains a significant problem for many rights holders. However, by combining technical control and optimized global publishing strategies, NAVER WEBTOON could set new standards.
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Via Naver Webtoon
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