Pixiv have announced that they will be expanding the list of applicable regions for their region-based content restrictions. In addition to the United Kingdom and the United States, member states of the EU will be subject to content restrictions starting October 2025, and Australia, Canada and New Zealand starting November 11.
This comes a year and a half after the first batch of “Restrictions for Healthy Expression in Specific Countries and Regions” was brought into effect in the United Kingdom and United States. The contents of the restrictions remain roughly the same as the ones announced in 2024, but are consolidated rather than separated for each affected country. This means that all clauses will apply across all regions.
As explained in the new “Restrictions for Healthy Expression in Specific Countries and Regions,” this update of Pixiv’s Terms of Service was made in order to “comply with the various laws and regulations applicable in the country or region” where their services are being used. Users in the affected countries will not be able to view or post certain content that falls under these restrictions.
Some of the specific restrictions include a ban on content such as child pornography, depictions of non-consensual sexual activity (including AI generated content and deepfakes that violate another’s personality rights), revenge pornography, snuff, incest, etc. Clauses 4 and 5, on the other hand, are a bit more open to interpretation, citing “obscene,” “inappropriate” content and “content that’s patently offensive in light of community standards and lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.” As for how strictly these restrictions will be enforced, it likely depends on the specific laws and regulations of each of the affected regions.
As noted in the official announcement on Pixiv, “other additions or changes to comply with regional laws may be implemented in the Pixiv Terms of Use for the purpose of creating a space that is safe and comfortable for people all over the world.”
