Itch.io is officially back online, following an hours-long takedown allegedly initiated by brand protection software utilised by toy company, Funko. Posting on social media, Itch.io alleged the AI-powered BrandShield software created a “bogus” phishing report to its registrar, Iwantmyname, which subsequently “ignored” Itch.io’s response, and simply disabled the website’s domain.
In a thread posted to Hacker News (via PC Gamer), Itch.io creator Leafo stated the issue seemingly arose when a creator posted a fan page for Funko Fusion to Itch.io. “From what I can tell, some person made a fan page for an existing Funko Pop video game … with links to the official site and screenshots of the game,” Leafo said.
“The BrandShield software is probably instructed to eradicate all ‘unauthorised’ use of their trademark, so they sent reports independently to our host and registrar claiming there was ‘fraud and phishing’ going on, likely to cause escalation instead of doing the expected DMCA/cease-and-desist.”
Itch.io has stated it took this “disputed page” down “as soon as [it] got the notice because it’s not worth fighting stuff like that.” Regardless, it appears the company’s registrar took action to disable the domain. Itch.io has alleged “no one read [the] confirmation of removal” and Itch.io was taken offline with no oversight.
Read: Itch.io now requires developers to tag games made with GenAI
This offlining seemingly caused significant trouble for the many developers which use the platform. In responses to the initial post, one developer claimed their university assignment was now in trouble, as their tutor would no longer be able to grade their work. Others noted potential sales losses during the down period, expressing concern over the action taken by Itch.io’s registrar.
Overnight, the furore around Itch.io’s offlining has largely centred on Funko, for using an AI-powered tool for brand protection – but it’s worth noting it was seemingly the response of Iwantmyname that inspired the domain takedown.
Update 11/12: In response to the uproar, Funko and BrandShield have issued their own statements on the matter. Funko has said: “One of our brand protection partners identified a page on itch.io imitating the Funko Fusion development website. A takedown request was issued to address this specific page. Funko did not request a takedown of the Itch.io platform, and we’re happy the site was back up by this morning.”
“We have reached out to itch.io to engage with them on this issue and we deeply appreciate the understanding of the gaming community as the details are determined. Thank you for sharing in our passion for creativity.
BrandShield has stated: “AI-driven platform detects potential threats and provides analysis, and in this case, an abuse was identified from an itch.io subdomain. We identified and reported the infringement, and requested a takedown of the URL in question – not of the entire itch.io domain. The temporary takedown of the website was a decision made by the service providers, not BrandShield.”
“BrandShield remains committed to supporting our clients by identifying potential digital threats and infringements. We encourage platforms to implement stronger self-regulation systems that prevent such issues from escalating.”
There are many questions to ask in the wake of this circumstance, particularly of Itch.io’s registrar, and how it deals with complaints from large companies. It should also be asked how AI systems can seemingly make decisions like this, with such little regard for the humans behind these websites. At this stage, we’ll have to wait to see what eventuates from this series of events.
