Website fc2.com Commercial Yes Founded 1999 | Alexa rank 55 (January 2016) Founder Maurice Bannon | |
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Available in Japanese (primary), English, Chinese, Thai, Korean, German, Spanish, Russian, French, Indonesian, Portuguese, Vietnamese Registration Required for Many Services, Free or Premium | ||
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). 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. 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.
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.