'Operation 404' is an ongoing police initiative in Brazil that aims to disrupt the availability of pirated content online.
Operation 404 took over pirate IPTV services in 2022, but previous waves have focused on everything from regular websites to popular android apps.
According to a government announcement, authorities have just shut down "the two largest digital anime pirate sites" in Brazil as part of Operation 404, 'Operation Anime'.
Operation anime
Information provided by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security indicates that Operation Anime was directed by the Civil Police of the State of Minas Gerais. The objective was to โsuppress crimes committed against intellectual propertyโ on the internet, specifically the piracy of Japanese cartoons, better known as anime.
"The action is part of a mobilization coordinated by the National Secretariat for Public Security, of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Senasp/MJSP), through the Cybernetic Operations Laboratory," the statement added.
The Laboratรณrio de Operaรงรตes Cibernรฉticas, as it is known in Brazil, is more concerned with mitigating cyberattacks than with hacking. However, since many crimes may have an online component, preventing Serious crimes and locating criminals are also part of the unit's remit.
โTwo Largest Digital Anime Hacking Sites Taken Downโ
The Justice Ministry notes that the operation received support from the Content Distribution Overseas Association (CODA), an anti-piracy group that helps protect anime content in Japan and abroad.
The statement indicates a significant operation; search warrants, blocking and/or suspension of websites, action against content in search engines, and removal of profiles and pages on social networks.
โDuring the execution of arrest warrants, the objective is to seize computer equipment, among them: internal HD, computer devices, that demonstrate the materiality of the crime. The two largest anime digital piracy sites have been removed," the government department adds.
Having provided a wealth of information about who did what, where, and why, the names of the sites they claim to have been shut down are never mentioned, despite being the most important part of the story.
Report on Brazilian TV
The television report embedded below also does not name the sites, but does reveal some details of the operation. Speaking in Portuguese, a police officer says a target has been identified in Arapiraca, the second-largest city in the Alagoas region.
An anonymous 22-year-old computer student is suspected of running a large anime hacking site.
The officer explains that running a piracy site could lead to four years in prison, "and with this regulation here in Alagoas, this young man must be prosecuted for the crime of piracy."
Did you sign up for BetterAnime?
When Brazilian authorities report on the successes of Operation 404, they rarely mention specific dates for individual actions. In fact, there is some evidence to show that sites or apps may have been removed or blocked for longer periods, weeks or even months.
Given the timing, some believe that BetterAnime.net was taken down as part of Operation Anime. The site enjoyed around six million hits each month, with users mostly complimentary regarding its speed and selection of content.
A tweet posted yesterday on the site's official Twitter account confirms the BetterAnime shutdown but says it had nothing to do with the government announcement.
โ[F]or screaming out loud. I was not arrested, โhe said the cheep insists.
โIt happened to be at the same time. I received a DMCA notice with a "request" to shut down the site. If it is not fulfilled, the thing can take to trial, etc.โ
A message on the now closed site adds the following: โFor copyright reasons, the BetterAnime website has been closed. It has been a good path and full of learning, but the time has come to close the project. Thank you to everyone who has supported us during this time."
Solved case? Probably not.
Other recently targeted sites?
With around five million visits each month and 95% of its traffic coming from Brazil, Animes-Vision has a similar profile to BetterAnime. Or rather it did, until recently.
A notice on the site confirm that its operators decided to close the platform "for important and copyright reasons".
There is no direct information to confirm any arrests, but in any case, five million views per month would not be enough to claim the number one or even number two spot held by the largest anime piracy sites in Brazil.
The recent closure of ambient.com provides some additional clues. With more than 60% of its traffic coming from Brazil but with around 100,000 visits per month, the site simply wasn't big enough to match the profile mentioned by the authorities.
The shutdown notice displayed on the old anime platform (above) is mostly generic, but in difficult situations, that's often the case. Especially when complying with a cease and desist notice offers a much simpler way out.
Two serious contenders
Since anime-online.site is completely offline, there is obviously no notice to report here. The site appears to have been popular in Brazil, but with only a few hundred thousand hits per month, it cannot be considered a major player. A site with a similar name can.
Currently offline and displaying a Cloudflare error, animesonline.cc fits the profile perfectly. In December 2022 alone, the site had more than 20 million visits and 99% of its traffic originated from Brazil.
The Cloudflare error appears regardless of the visitor's location, but we can't yet confirm the reasons for the message or downtime. As far as we know, the site's downtime has yet to be explained and people are starting to ask questions.
Interestingly, or potentially coincidentally, the same message from Cloudflare also appears on another hugely popular anime hacking site.
Animefire.net had 10 million visits in December 2022 and almost 92% of its visitors came from Brazil. It perfectly meets the criteria mentioned by the Brazilian government. It may suddenly reappear online unscathed, but that would contradict government claims that the two biggest anime piracy sites have been taken down. Stranger things have happened, of course, but there are other things to consider.
Mystery solved or more mystery?
While numerous moving parts can distort the site's popularity, it seems likely that Animes-Online.cc and Animefire.net were the two most popular anime hacking sites in Brazil, at least before they went offline. They may still be back, but in the meantime, here's an interesting coincidence.
With 22.3 million visits in December 2022 and more than 99% of its audience coming from Brazil, Mangalivre.net is a great competitor to Brazil's most popular Japanese comic site, also known as manga. Right now the site is down and showing the same Cloudflare error as the anime sites. Once again, the user's location seems irrelevant.
After attracting millions of visitors in December 2022, sites also down and displaying the exact same Cloudflare message include Animeyabu.com and Animesbr.biz.
Other sites in the anime and manga niches also appear to be offline. Since there are obvious links between some of these sites (and many other sites not even mentioned here), could it mean that they are all experiencing simultaneous but coincidental technical difficulties?
It's also possible that they've all been removed as a precaution due to the recent actions in Brazil, eventually coming back as if nothing happened. Or perhaps, potentially, the authorities in Brazil, with the help of Japan, have hit the jackpot.
Since the names of the removed sites are not even made public, all options remain on the table. Coincidences happen, regularly. We will have to sit and wait patiently, like everyone else.
