Netflix has subpoenaed Discord amid an investigation of one of the most significant anime leaks in history! While you may have thought that mass piracy is a thing of the past, data leakers and content thieves are still alive and well. This particular leak targeted animes like DANDADAN, , Ranma 1/2, and more. It also leaked live-action Netflix films that were slated for Fall 2024 release. Now, Netflix is taking legal action to bring the leakers to justice.
The August Netflix Leaks
The leaks occurred in August when episodes of multiple upcoming Netflix animes were leaked on 4chan. If you don't know what 4chan is, it's a platform that can be compared to Reddit to some extent, though there is little to no moderation. Many leaks have occurred on the platform, and it's easy to share from that, as well as difficult to track. The episodes were later leaked to other well-known sites that house pirated material.
The leaks were allegedly blurry in resolution and were watermarked, making it clear that they were taken from Netflix. Two episodes of DANDADAN were leaked, along with three episodes of Ranma 1/2, which were out of order. The only episodes that had leaked were 1, 3, and 4. Afterward, more episodes of DANDADAN leaked along with the first episode of Re:ZERO -Starting Life In Another World season three. All episodes of Terminator Zero were revealed as well. At first, Netflixmade no comment aboutthe massive breach but soon made their statement.
Netflix's Statement
Netflix issued a statement to IGN that said, "One of our post-production partners has been compromised, and footage from several of our titles has unfortunately leaked online. Our team is aggressively taking action to have it taken down." They also stated that they were aware of the leaks before they became public and widespread online.
The incident was worse than the public initially thought, as IGN claims thatArcane, the third season of Heartstopper, and more heavy-hitting Netflix titles were also leaked.
The Discord Subpeona
On November 15th, Netflix filed a request to subpeneta Discord for the release of information that would lead to the leaker. This is all thanks to a user who posted an unreleased copyrighted image from the second season of Squid Game, which will be released next month. The Discord user, "@jacejohns4n," has claimed responsibility for the leaks in an interview that was done and released anonymously. The person goes by Jace Johnson but says that isn't their real name. It seems that Netflix hopes to use the information from Discord to learn more about the leaker.
Jace Johnson spoke about what motivated him to begin leaking content in an interview, saying, "A friend of mine worked for a company called iyuno and I somehow got access to their database then I Leaked those shows/movies on 4chan before posting them on Twitter." They also say that despite the Netflix lawsuit, they will continue to leak more content, "Because of legal reasons, I say anything about that, but what I can say is that I'll continue to leak more movies/shows. I'm currently planning my next big leak."
The subpeona for Discord was just approved so it might be weeks before we hear anything more about this. It will be interesting to see what happens first; will Jace Johnson be found/charged or will they release more pirated content as promised?