FC2 (portal)
 | |
Type of site | Blog host, Video hosting service |
|---|---|
| Available in | Japanese (primary), English, Chinese, Thai, Korean, German, Spanish, Russian, French, Indonesian, Portuguese, Vietnamese[1] |
| Website | fc2.com |
| Alexa rank |
 55 (January 2016)[2] |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Required for Many Services, Free or Premium |
| Launched | July 20, 1999 |
| Current status | Active |
FC2 (founded July 20, 1999) is a popular Japanese blogging host, the third most popular video hosting service in Japan (after YouTube and Niconico), and a web hosting company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the sixth most popular website in Japan overall (as of January 2014).[3] FC2 is an abbreviation of "Fantastic Kupi-Kupi (クピクピ)". It is known to allow controversial adult content such as pornography and hate speech (unlike many of its competitors).
Controversy
Due to FC2's physical presence in the United States, it has been known to allow hosting of controversial (i.e., pornographic, pirated, and slanderous) content.[4][5][6] Until 2012 it was very difficult to sue and get FC2 to release information on its users. This changed somewhat with an amendment to Japan's Code of Civil Procedure for foreign entities operating in Japan in 2012 and the ensuing injunctions that followed against FC2.[7]
The company uses rented office space for its headquarters which it shares with many other U.S.-based businesses. It also pays taxes in the United States. The physical servers are located in the United States. However, it is believed that the majority of the company and its users (including employees) are located within Japan.[8]
References
- ↑ "FC2 - About Us". Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ↑ "fc2.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
- ↑ "Alexa Top Sites in Japan". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ↑ "Japan's Code of Civil Procedure law revised to force lawless FC2 to disclose information on its users" (in Japanese). Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ↑ "Lawless FC2 in the news again due to its "FC2 Talk" dating application" (in Japanese). 2013-03-10. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ↑ "Illegal content found in the parasitic Niconico clone "Sunflower Videos" app" (in Japanese). 2013-03-03. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ↑ "Information disclosure injunction sent to overseas blog management company" (in Japanese). 2013-02-24. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ↑ "FC2's parent company refutes evidence paper concluding that FC2's headquarters is actually located in Japan". J-Cast News (in Japanese). 2013-02-26. Retrieved January 15, 2014.