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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Yes. The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) included HiAnime and related domains in its 2025 Notorious Markets List, released March 3, 2026. The entry describes the service as a successor to Aniwatch and a rebrand of zoro.to, and reports that stakeholders identified it as a source of pirated movies and television, especially anime.
What USTR published—and when
USTR’s 2025 Notorious Markets List names 37 online markets and 32 physical markets that right holders or other stakeholders reported as being involved in, or facilitating, substantial counterfeiting or piracy. HiAnime appears in the online-market section under “HIANIME,” alongside related domains.
The list was released on March 3, 2026. USTR describes it as an annual identification of markets reported by stakeholders, not as a complete inventory of infringement worldwide. Inclusion is not a court judgment and does not itself establish that an operator has violated a criminal or civil law.
What the HiAnime entry says
The report traces the service’s identity through several names. According to USTR, right holders and anti-piracy trade associations shut down zoro.to in July 2023. The operation was then reportedly rebranded as Aniwatch and, in March 2024, as HiAnime. The entry says the service provided pirated movies and television programming, particularly anime.
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The Motion Picture Association’s submission to the USTR review said the operation was believed to be based in Vietnam. That is a reported assessment, not a finding that every person associated with the domains was located there.
Traffic figures cited in the report
| Measure | Figure | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Visits | More than 244 million | SimilarWeb estimate for August 2025, as cited by USTR |
| Visits | 244.2 million | SimilarWeb figure in the Motion Picture Association submission for August 2025 |
| Unique visitors | 17.54 million | Figure reported in the Motion Picture Association submission for August 2025 |
| Global rank | 159 | SimilarWeb ranking reported in the Motion Picture Association submission for August 2025 |
These are third-party audience estimates for one month, not a live measurement of HiAnime’s 2026 audience. They also measure website traffic, not the number of paying or registered users.
Why it is called the “world’s biggest” anime piracy site
“World’s biggest” is best understood as attributed shorthand for the site’s reported scale, rather than an official U.S. government ranking. USTR records the traffic evidence supplied during its review, but it does not certify HiAnime as the largest anime website or publish a definitive global league table of piracy services. The same figures also do not prove that HiAnime had the largest audience across every anime platform, licensed or unlicensed.
HiAnime’s reported timeline
| Date | What was reported |
|---|---|
| July 2023 | USTR says zoro.to was shut down by right holders and anti-piracy trade associations; the operation was reportedly rebranded as Aniwatch. |
| March 2024 | USTR says the service was rebranded as HiAnime. |
| August 2025 | SimilarWeb traffic estimates cited by USTR and the Motion Picture Association measured the site’s reported audience for that month. |
| October 2025 | The Motion Picture Association’s submission to USTR listed HiAnime domains as a priority notorious linking and streaming site. |
| March 3, 2026 | USTR released the 2025 Notorious Markets List and included HIANIME. |
| 2026 | TorrentFreak reported criminal charges in Vietnam against seven suspects in a wider website network; the reporting said investigators examined activity through April 2026. |
Was HiAnime shut down, and were its operators arrested?
The documented shutdown in USTR’s account concerns zoro.to in July 2023. The report then describes successive rebrands, so that event should not be presented as proof that the later HiAnime service permanently disappeared.
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TorrentFreak later reported that Vietnamese authorities charged seven suspects linked to a network operating more than 100 websites. The report attributed to investigators allegations involving more than 26,000 unlicensed titles and approximately $12.8 million in advertising revenue. Those are reported charges and allegations, not convictions. The reporting also does not by itself establish that every site in the network was operated by HiAnime or that all allegations will be proved in court.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What a Notorious Markets listing means legally
USTR explicitly says the Notorious Markets List is not exhaustive and does not constitute a finding that a named market has violated U.S. law. The designation records concerns reported by stakeholders and is intended to draw attention to markets alleged to facilitate counterfeiting or piracy. “Listed,” “identified,” and “reported” are therefore accurate descriptions; “convicted” is not.
Ambassador Jamieson Greer framed the broader consumer concern this way: “Not only do such activities amount to intellectual property theft, they also harm consumers, such as through purchasing substandard goods that can present health or safety concerns or downloading malware when visiting sites engaged in these activities.” The statement is a general warning about activities covered by the list, not a finding that a particular HiAnime visitor’s device was infected.
Quick Recap
What viewers should take from the listing
- Do not treat a government listing as proof that every allegation has been adjudicated; the USTR document is a reported-market designation.
- Traffic estimates from August 2025 should not be read as current audience totals or as an official “largest site” certification.
- Using licensed anime services avoids the infringement concerns described in the report. Availability, simulcast timing, subtitles, dubs, downloads, device support, and pricing vary by country because distribution rights are territorial.
- Be cautious with replacement domains and unofficial streaming pages. USTR’s warning specifically notes the possibility of malware when visiting sites engaged in these activities; it does not identify a particular infection or endorse a specific security product.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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