An outcome that’s either celebrated or mourned, depending on whether you’re Japanese or a gaijin.
Pixiv, the Japanese art hosting platform, has announced that users in the United States and United Kingdom won’t have access to NSFW R18-rated images and can’t post them either.
This decision likely arises from foreign payment processors like VISA and Mastercard, who’ve been cracking down on websites hosting explicit content. This trend has led platforms like Gumroad to randomly alter their terms of service to ban NSFW creators.
And more recently, DLSite attempted to adjust certain terms related to controversial content like loli and rape. However, their efforts were ineffective as they eventually suspended VISA and Mastercard payment options who likely wanted such material purged from DLSite outright.
Pixiv has faced scrutiny from strict payment processors in the past. Despite this, the Japanese art hosting platform has consistently championed diversity and inclusion. Its popularity has surged globally, especially among Western artists who use it to showcase their work and manage commissions.
One major concern with Western users submitting artwork to the Pixiv platform revolves around AI-generated imagery depicting hyper-realistic depictions of lolicon characters.
Pixiv previously tightened restrictions on its commission platforms, including “FANBOX,” “BOOTH,” and “REQUEST,” to combat the creation and sharing of supposedly “exploitative” content, particularly concerning underage fictional characters.
In late December 2023, Pixiv introduced display restrictions in certain countries, such as the United States, preventing users with accounts set to those locations from searching for or viewing content with specific tags. This move was primarily aimed at prohibiting lolicon artwork to safeguard against potential harm to fictional characters who cannot consent.
Despite previous efforts, Pixiv found itself under continued scrutiny. Consequently, the platform will now completely block pornographic content for users in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Pixiv cites the necessity to comply with regional laws for these changes, which will take effect on April 25th. As a result, users with accounts set to either the US or UK region will be unable to post any sexually explicit content on the platform.
Though of course, users who already haven’t changed their accounts regional location following the prohibition of viewing lolicon content can simply change their location in their account settings, though they may possibly have to continue using the website using a VPN moving forward however.
This sudden decision likely caught Western artists off guard. However, it’s preferable to Pixiv completely removing problematic content across all regions to appease Western demands. This change seems like a temporary fix rather than a solution to the growing issue.
While Japanese users may rejoice at the decreased Western presence, it doesn’t fully address the underlying problems. They may find relief from harassment and the influx of Western artwork, but the issue remains unresolved.
Pixiv might face financial challenges moving forward, largely due to pressure from foreign credit card companies and governments regarding controversial artwork on its platforms. While there are alternative platforms available, some opt to restrict access from Western nations rather than remove the content altogether.
It’s disappointing that this situation has arisen. However, countries struggling to distinguish between fiction and reality deserve to be excluded. Interestingly, America tolerates public indecency, such as naked pride parades, yet takes issue with fictional drawings that don’t promote the correct agenda.
Pixiv’s expansive efforts to cater to a global audience, especially in the Western market, have drawn unwanted scrutiny. However, users can sidestep these restrictions by changing their account location to a country unaffected by the changes.
I hope that this exclusion of Western users won’t jeopardize Pixiv’s future, particularly for its native Japanese audience.
