The illustration community platform pixiv, which hosts illustrations, manga, and novel submissions, announced new usage guidelines yesterday (February 18). These new rules prohibit excessive "spam" posting and the misuse of work status tags (such as failing to label AI-generated content, incorrectly categorizing age ratings, or misrepresenting original works). The new guidelines, set to take effect on March 18, have sparked considerable discussion among users.
The primary reason for this guideline update is to introduce a new feature in pixiv's work search function that will allow users to filter out "works highly likely to violate terms or guidelines," thereby enhancing the overall user experience.
The platform stated that it has observed numerous accounts intentionally using settings inconsistent with their work's content to boost views or engagement. Additionally, some users have been rapidly posting a large volume of works in a short period for promotional purposes, which can overshadow other creators' work and discourage their creative efforts.
According to pixiv, the recent surge in promotional spamming, along with the misuse of tags and categories to inflate views, has negatively impacted the overall user experience. As a result, the platform has decided to take action to rectify these issues.
While existing rules already prohibited "adding tags unrelated to the work," the updated guidelines provide clearer definitions, specifically addressing:
Age ratings
Whether a work is original
Whether a work is AI-generated
Work type and tags
And other submission information
Any information provided that is inconsistent with the work itself will be considered a violation. Furthermore, the previous wording, which only targeted "mass consecutive submissions of prohibited works," has been removed. It has been replaced with a clearer statement: any mass posting behavior that negatively impacts other users' experience or places a burden on the servers is strictly prohibited.
The platform plans to introduce a new feature around March. If the system determines certain works are "highly likely to violate guidelines," they may be directly hidden from search results. This determination will consider multiple factors, including work information, submitter behavior patterns, and the impact on the search system. To prevent exploitation, the specific criteria for this judgment will not be disclosed. However, pixiv also stated that a verification mechanism will be implemented simultaneously to minimize false positives.
For regular creators, these updates do not introduce new restrictions on the creative process itself, provided they avoid mislabeling AI content, incorrect age ratings, or spamming for promotion. The primary goal is to prevent discrepancies between work content and its associated type, tags, or other submission information.
However, many users are questioning whether the system can truly distinguish these violations, especially given the current prevalence of AI-generated image creators on pixiv, which many feel already impacts platform browsing. Some users expressed a stronger desire for a feature to filter out AI-generated content.
via： pixiv