On Monday August 12th, WEBTOON released a notice and FAQ on one of their upcoming features to the platform. This feature is the Content Age Rating system for their self publishing platform known as CANVAS. It was originally released in Fall 2023 for their Originals and is a system that seeks to provide a safe reading experience for all users. WEBTOON CANVAS creators will be able to start assigning Content Age Ratings to their series as of August 20th.
Creators on the platform will be prompted to fill out a questionnaire about their series before uploading new episodes or before creating a series on CANVAS. The questionnaire will be 5 questions from a scale of 0 to 3 regarding content such as Violent and graphic content, Nudity, Sexual content, Profanity, Alcohol, drugs, and/or tobacco use, Sensitive themes and topics. Based on the answers, the series will be given one of four ratings:
All Ages: Appropriate for readers of all ages. Series may contain mild depictions of cartoon blood.
Teen: Appropriate for readers aged 13 or older. Series may contain mild fantasy violence, blood, or gore. May contain minor themes related to mental health topics, but no graphic depictions. Series may contain uncensored mild profanity.
Young Adult: Appropriate for readers aged 16 or older. Series may contain moderate violence, profanity, sexual themes, mild nudity, and consumption of alcohol or drugs. May contain themes of self-harm, bullying, and abuse.
Mature: Appropriate for readers aged 18 or older. Series contains graphic imagery, violence, profanity, nudity, or sexual themes.
If creators do not fill out the questionnaire, the series will be marked as Not Yet Rated, only visible to users over 18. The creator will not be able to upload new episodes until they complete the aforementioned questionnaire.
But why?
The goal of the Content Age Rating system is to simply reinforce the existing Content Guidelines regarding the Community Policy and Uploading Guidelines. It is also intended to allow users on WEBTOON to sort through the many series on CANVAS based on the ratings which align with their age group and content preferences. A good comparison is pretty much like how TV shows and Movies have their own Age Rating system so you can get an idea if that show or film is the right one for you based on the content it has.
Another factor of note is how series will be accessed on the platform once a rating is assigned. Mature rated series will not be accessible to users under the age of 18, requiring verification of the user’s age to access that series. Series that are rated All Ages, Teen or Young Adult will be visible to all readers and will not require age verification.
This is also so that way both Originals and CANVAS series will have the same features, just like how Super Likes were rolled out for CANVAS and for Originals. Keep in mind WEBTOON Originals already have a Content Age Rating system in place as of fall 2023.
The other reason why the Content Age Rating system is rolling out is without a doubt to comply with the Content Guidelines and Policies in place from the IOS/Apple App Store and Google Play stores regarding apps which contain adult content. With app stores starting to take action in following their own policies as they do take a 30% fee from every transaction that happens on apps from their storefronts. This also ties to the network policy put in place by card payment providers such as Mastercard, Visa, and Discover, with Mastercard approving the usage of their services only on platforms with strict content control, so unauthorized underage users don’t interact with adult content.
Another factor to consider is that on WEBTOON, GenZ and younger Millennials make up 75% of the user base worldwide with over 70% of users in the US under the age of 24. Compared to Social media apps such as X/Twitter and Reddit where 90% of the users are well over the age of 18.
Concerns from the community
Within the day of the announcement, many creators from CANVAS took the time to read the notice and FAQs and had some concerns from age gating affecting their readership and many taking to social media concerned over the wording of the final topic in the FAQs regarding NSFW extra promotions on series that are not Mature on sites such as Patreon for example.
Here are some quotes from creators from the community regarding the upcoming feature:
“Personally I don’t care mainly cause my series have been YAs and mature. But I am confused on what would make something mature? Does it only take one 3 to make it mature?” – @PiruuMi
“Webtoon’s new age rating system is going to force my series into the mature category, removing it from rankings and making it unavailable to any reader under 18. The reason? That I state there is R18 content on my Patreon. Just that statement is enough with the upcoming system.” – @inmapollito
“It is absolutely ridiculous that content is being policed more than the underage consumers, or the predatory creators. Webtoon would be better off picking a side. They clearly WANT the older audience but only know how to cater to their younger one. They need a catalyst to change.” – @Ratatic_post
“So if Webtoon changes my comic to mature bc I mention my Patreon (which has nsfw content) & I appeal but get rejected, I am locked into the Mature category (not visible to anyone under 18) for an entire month. This will ruin my (any many others’) income completely.” – @madamka_art
There is also an interesting X/Twitter thread by @Catfish_pond on the hurdles they had to overcome to keep their series on CANVAS and how indie creators are being scrutinized and held up to higher standards related to the upcoming rating system.
One thought I had is if just having NSFW content on a Patreon linked to the series or promoting unedited/unaltered episodes on Patreon counts as NSFW extra promotions which can lead to the series being flagged as Mature. After reaching out to WEBTOON here is what they have to say:
“WEBTOON does not restrict creators from promoting external content, and a Creator’s external content does not affect a series’ rating on our platform. Our policy specifically addresses the language and imagery used for series or promotions on WEBTOON. Any promotional language or images found on WEBTOON must adhere to our content and uploading guidelines.
WEBTOON will be updating the language in our policy to clearly reflect these guidelines. Additionally creator posts in the comment section would fall under the same policy.”
A good way to paraphrase this, is simply something akin to a “Don’t Say Porn” policy on CANVAS, so creators who do rely on external platforms for additional income can keep mature content on there without it affecting the series’ rating on WEBTOON. However, any direct mention of NSFW content or images implied or censored of said content within the WEBTOON itself or comments will have the series be changed to mature by WEBTOON moderators with or without prior notice.
Creators can talk about unedited episodes or extra content on other sites, it’s only regarding NSFW content specifically through language or images which will affect the series as the moderators are simply reinforcing the content and uploading guidelines with the rating change.
My thoughts
This section is my opinions and thoughts on the matter and news as a creator on CANVAS.
Having been on the platform for over 4 years now, I too try to keep my series in the Teen-Young Adult demographic, so the fear of having my series be age-gated if it is rated Mature and affecting discoverability and readership is something that is on my mind as is with other creators on the platform who want to tackle subjects and tell stories that aren’t aimed for all audiences.
Unfortunately it will impact how sites like Patreon can be marketed on my end as well as other creators who are trying to make ends meet. Creators who don’t want to be affected will have to scrub through previous episodes to hide any mention or promotion of NSFW content, but I do get where WEBTOON is coming from and it isn’t WEBTOON picking a side.
With many Webtoon and Webcomic platforms now available on Mobile app stores, it means there is now a standard that must be upheld primarily due to the content guidelines from those storefronts, and the Banking/Card providers who are cracking down on how their money and services are being used on the internet. This leads to a ripple effect that influences any website or platform connected to a mobile app and has payment services on the websites as well.
With how some creators I have quoted are rightfully upset with WEBTOON and worried about their livelihoods, the blame isn’t entirely on that platform. With the main demographic being Gen Z and younger millenials, most of which are minors, this is all a way to prevent potential legal troubles and strict crackdowns from Apple and Google while also keeping said younger demographic safe. This is just the result of an ever changing internet which is slowly leading to the sterilization of mature content. I was there on Tumblr around 2017-18 when the NSFW crackdowns happened there too, lots of artists left the site. Some had their accounts taken down, and others had to take down some art even if it was tame or showing just a little bit of skin.
This isn’t something that exists in a bubble, as the cause was the same as it is now on other sites and apps even now. I just fear that outside of WEBTOON, there will be more platforms that will crack down on such content, and in time, there will be very few alternatives available for artists who do want to create and explore mature content either through art or stories. Private sites like Patreon seem more safe for said content for now, but for how long? Same applies to other sites and platforms as well. It isn’t a matter of if, but when.
I just wonder how creators will be affected and if they will leave CANVAS to try and find an alternative that better suits their stories and content, if there is one. Or will they adapt and try to make the best out of the situation in this ever changing internet.
Conclusion
WEBTOON’s Content Age Rating system seems it will be a useful way to browse for new stories based on age groups and give users an idea what kind of content is within specific series on CANVAS. It seeks to bring the features the Originals already have and makes both the Originals and Canvas sides feel more like two sides of the same coin. The only downside is it could potentially affect creators whose stories lean more towards the mature side and others will have to make changes before August 20th to prevent their series which are more Safe For Work leaning to not accidentally have a Mature rating, affecting discoverability and readership.
So what do you think about the upcoming Content Age Rating feature for WEBTOON CANVAS? Are you a CANVAS creator? How do you feel about this? Let us know down in the comments
If you want more news on WEBTOON, you can follow the company on X/Twitter on their main account and also the CANVAS account where news on events, series, and features will be.
Feel free to check out a previous article from The Beat about WEBTOON’s stock shares dropping. Or more WEBTOON related news on the WEBTOON archive.
Until next time my adorable birb nerds <3
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