Hololive, Nijisanji owners form committee to tackle cyber bullying

Cover Corporation, which operates the Vtuber agency Hololive production, announced that they have teamed up with two other Vtuber/influencer-related companies to form a subcommittee to tackle cyber bullying. They have joined forces with entertainment start-up ANYCOLOR Inc. (known for the Nijisanji Vtuber Project) and Uuum Co. Ltd., which provides management services to Japanese YouTubers.

The subcommittee will focus on finding more effective ways to prevent and deal with slander and defamation of Vtubers, YouTubers and influencers under the umbrella of the three companies. Although Cover Corporation had already taken countermeasures against defamation, it states in the announcement that these “were insufficient against perpetrators with clear malicious intents.” By teaming up to form this committee, the three companies aim to strengthen their existing measures and support services.

Collaboraters who are working with Cover, Uuum and Any Color's subcommittee to tackle defamation — Companies working with the subcommittee (center) that are not members of the Creator’s Economy Committee are on the right side of the diagram, while members are on the left (credit: Cover Corp. on X).

In forming the subcommittee, the companies have received support from 12 other organizations. This not only includes other internet content creator-related companies (as pictured in the diagram above) but also organizations such as the Japanese Government’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, The Safer Internet Association (SIA), and the Social Media Association of Japan (SMAJ). Cover Corp states that they will “continue to work with other companies to foster an environment where creators can work with peace of mind.”

Cover Corp. apparently received 146 reports of defamatory behavior in 2022 and 116 reports in 2023 (source: KAI-YOU.net). There have also been a number of defamation incidents involving VTubers that have reached the courts in Japan. One problem that bullied VTubers face in these kinds of cases is that they use avatars, so the defense can argue that the malicious comments are directed towards the avatar and not the real person behind it- as can be seen in this 2022 case.

Check out this article to find out more about the legal loopholes that VTubers are faced with in Japan when they try to defend themselves against slander and malicious comments.