The founder of Japan's FC2 was arrested. Will uncensored AV disappear? The community is once again stirring up controversy over the theory of guilt by association.

Toshio Takahashi, the founder of the well-known Japanese content sharing website FC2, was arrested by the police at Kansai International Airport in Japan today (8th) on suspicion of distributing obscene videos. After the news of Toshio Takahashi's arrest was released, it quickly sparked heated discussions in the Japanese community, and the widely discussed 'guilty by association' theory in the encryption industry resurfaced. (Background: Open Source Software Elegy》Tornado Cash founder sentenced to 64 months in prison, Money Laundering charge established) Toshio Takahashi, the founder of the well-known Japanese content sharing website FC2, was arrested at Kansai International Airport today (8th) on suspicion of distributing obscene videos. After the news was released, it quickly sparked heated discussions in the Japanese community. Wanted by Japan in 2013 According to 4Gamer, the 51-year-old founder Toshio Takahashi previously stated that he was put on the international wanted list by the Japanese police in June 2013 for allegedly conspiring with other internet service providers to allow users to watch obscene videos uploaded by registered members. It is understood that Toshio Takahashi stated that he has been wandering the world since 2015 and has married an American woman and obtained a green card. However, due to being wanted by the Japanese police, he has resigned from the position of president of FC2: Since around 2015, I have been living a life of moving around the world and cannot return to Japan. This is because I am on the so-called 'international wanted list'. Mixed reactions in the Japanese community According to Japanese media Livedoor, Toshio Takahashi was arrested when he flew back from Korea to Kansai International Airport on the 7th. In response, Japanese netizens have mixed reactions, with some saying that the actions of the Japanese police are too slow and FC2 has long been popular in Japan. A few people believe that Toshio Takahashi's actions this time were a 'surrender' plan discussed with his lawyer. Another group believes that the current internet culture is already open and transparent, and even if users post adult content on social platforms like X, it won't lead to the arrest of X CEO Elon Musk, just like criminals who use guns to kill people are not arrested, but the people who make guns are guilty. Therefore, netizens also suggest that the Japanese government should amend the relevant laws on this 'guilty by association' theory and allow internet developers to develop freely. 4Gamer cited the Winny case as an example and hoped that history would not repeat itself. Winny P2P software developer Isamu Kaneko was arrested and prosecuted because his software was used for illegal sharing of copyrighted content, which sparked extensive discussions about the responsibility of platform developers. What is FC2? fc2.com is operated by FC2 Inc., founded in 1999. It is a website mainly for sharing videos, pictures, and text content. The website ranked third in the number of Japanese users in 2013, and its 'adult videos' are the most well-known. In addition to operating video websites, FC2 Inc. also provides domain name sales and application development services. However, because FC2 Inc. is headquartered in the United States, Japanese law cannot intervene in the gray area, so the website's content often includes copyright infringement, illegal piracy, uncensored (prohibited in Japan), and indistinguishable forced sex content. Guilty by association theory? Toshio Takahashi's arrest has also sparked discussions in the encryption industry because some people in the past were afraid of leaving records when buying FC2 points with credit cards or paying at convenience stores, so they might use cryptocurrency to find agents on the internet. On the other hand, this incident has also sparked further discussions on the 'guilty by association' theory. For example, the recent Ethereum mixer protocol Tornado Cash was listed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department for alleged use by North Korean hackers for Money Laundering. Not only that, the three co-founders of Tornado Cash, Alexey Pertsev, Roman Storm, and Roman Semenov, have also been indicted, and Alexey Pertsev has been sentenced to 64 months in prison in May this year. Extended reading: Is Polymarket a good prediction tool? Monitoring, copying, sniping... a complete guide to scanning tools to seize the Pump.fun meme coin frenzy AI deepfake tool cracks 'exchange KYC' in one second, how to prevent it, and how it affects the crypto world? This article was first published on BlockTempo, the most influential blockchain news media in the BlockZone.