Kakao Entertainment Behind the Bato.to Piracy Crackdown, Operator Identified

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Kakao Entertainment Behind the Bato.to Piracy Crackdown, Operator Identified

https://torrentfreak.com/kakao-entertainment-behind-the-bato-to-piracy-crackdown-operator-identified/

Bato.to—once the go-to hub for manga and manhwa fans—is officially dead. And no, it wasn’t just bad hosting or a tech glitch. This was a targeted takedown, and the assassin? Kakao Entertainment.

For years, Bato.to thrived on user-generated scans and unlicensed translations. But behind the scenes, its founder—dubbed “Larry”—wasn’t just some hobbyist. He was the linchpin of a sprawling piracy empire, and Kakao’s anti-piracy squad, P.CoK, spent months tracking him down. Now? Legal proceedings are active in his home country.

The shutdown wasn’t just about the site—it was a domino effect. Discord servers? Shut down. Reddit mods? Cut all ties, citing “legal developments.” Even new fan communities had to adopt strict anti-piracy rules or vanish. One new site? Already on P.CoK’s radar.

This wasn’t a warning shot—it was surgical. Cease-and-desist letters went out to moderators, sub-developers, even community admins. And Kakao’s not done: MangaPark and AniXL? Next on the list.

The message is clear: fan sites won’t be tolerated if they profit off creators’ work. Fans aren’t the enemy—but piracy infrastructure? That’s a target.

So if you’re craving new manhwa… maybe try Webtoon. Kakao owns it. And they’re watching.