Despite the infinite possibilities it opens up,Artificial intelligenceis quickly becoming an invasive, inescapable presence online and its existence now threatens the manhwa and webtoon industry as a whole. Amidst theconcerns raised by manga artists like Hirohiko Araki, X’s new policies have forced manhwa creators and publishers to take drastic measures to protect their works from AI, which may come as a major blow to the community.
X (formerly known as Twitter) recently updated its Privacy Policy to allow third-party collaborators toobtain users' data to train AI models.In response, multiple webtoon studios like D&C, the publishers ofSolo Leveling, Carrotoon, DAON, Atri Studio, and Mstory Hub, to name a few, have released statements that any official content posted on X will henceforth go through “post-production” first. In most cases, this has taken the form of illustrations being plastered with watermarks, but some studios have resorted to only posting links to their works, while some manhwa artists have evenrequested fans to stop posting images of their works on X altogether.
X’s New Data Sharing Policy Forces Webtoon Studios to Take Extreme Measures
Webtoon Creators Are Desperately Trying to Protect Their Works From AI
On July 01, 2025, X updated its Privacy Policy with an added paragraph under the “Sharing Information” section causing quite a bit of concern. Effective as of August 11, 2025, the updated Privacy Policy allows third parties to license data for their own purposes whichincludes training AI models.
Depending on your settings, or if you decide to share your data, we may share or disclose your information with third parties. If you do not opt out, in some instances the recipients of the information may use it for their own independent purposes in addition to those stated in X’s Privacy Policy, including, for example, to train their artificial intelligence models, whether generative or otherwise.
Though the policy states that users can opt out of sharing their data, the platform’s settings have yet to add a control to actually do so which is why manhwa creators and studios have been forced to take alternative measures.
Most notable among these is D&C Media, who fans may best know as the studio behind popularseries likeSolo LevelingandThe SSS-Ranker Returns. D&C’s statement can be roughly translated as:
Hello, This is the D&C Webtoon Editorial Department.
In accordance with the revision of the X (Twitter) Terms of Service, all images related to works uploaded to the official D&C Webtoon account from June 07, 2025, will be uploaded as post-processed images.
D&C Webtoon will continue to do its best to create a safe content environment. We are always grateful for your support.
D&C’s official X account has since taken to “cloaking” all illustrations, which tends to confuse AI algorithms while looking nearly the same as before to the human eye. MStory Hub, the publishers ofpopular romance manhwa likeThe Remarried EmpressandNot Your Typical Reincarnation Storyhave alsoresorted to cloaking images with a glazeas per a similar statement.
Meanwhile, Carrotoon, the studio behind manhwa likeWho Made Me A PrincessandHow to Win Over My Husband,has instead taken to completely watermarking all images and promotional material, which is quite a sad state to behold, especially for fans of their titles that usually have exceptional art. That said, Atri Studio, the producers of titles likeDear NemesisandPick Me Up Infinite Gachahave completely stopped posting any images related to their worksand instead have begun directly linking to their works on Kakao Webtoon.
Though most major Korean studios and publishers have made a statement on the policy update, Western platforms like Webtoon, Tapas, and Tappytoon are yet to do so.
SUOL, the creator of thesensational villainess manhwaVillains are Destined to Die,has evendirectly asked fans not to repost any panelsfrom the series on X going forward, instead linking to their alternative social media handles such as Blue Sky and Instagram in a post that reads:
I made it! It’s not yet decided whether I’ll move it or how I’ll do it, but I’ll put it up for now.
In addition, I ask general readers to refrain from posting or re-uploading webtoon captures and my other works on X in the future. Thank you.
What Does X’s New Privacy Mean For Webtoon and Manhwa Fans?
X is No Longer A Safe Space For Manhwa and Webtoon Creators or Fans
Overall,manhwa and webtoons have always been ahead of the curvein terms of their social media presence and promotions, making the latest update a huge blow in terms of marketing opportunities. That said, arguably the biggest consequence of X’s new data-sharing policy is that fans mayno longer be able to safely use X as a platform to share and discuss their favorite manhwa or webtoons,at least not without risking their favorite works being infringed by AI.
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For the longest time, X has been one of the most widely used community platforms after forums like Reddit, bringing readers together to discuss and recommend their favorite series to others, and the loss of such a platform will surely be felt. Nonetheless, for now, it is best that fans respect the wishes of their favorite manhwa creators and avoid posting their artwork on X.
