Indie game platform itch.io claims that Funko used “trash” AI software to take it down

Domain is currently not available

itch.io

Update (Dec. 10, 2024): BrandShield has reached out with a statement regarding yesterday's situation around the takedown of itch.io:

“BrandShield serves as a trusted partner to many global brands. Our AI-driven platform detects potential threats and provides analysis; then, our team of Cybersecurity Threat hunters and IP lawyers decide on what actions should be taken. In this case, an abuse was identified from the 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 and we encourage platforms to implement stronger self-regulation systems that prevent such issues from occurring.”

Funko, too, has issued a statement regarding the matter:

“At Funko, we hold a deep respect and appreciation for indie games, indie gamers, and indie developers. We’re fans of fans, and we love the creativity and passion that define the indie gaming community. Recently, one of our brand protection partners identified a page on http://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.”

Both parties stated that they did not intend for a complete takedown of the domain, saying that this was a decision made by the service provider.

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Update (Dec. 9, 2024): It looks like itch.io is back online after being taken down temporarily.

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Gamers looking to browse through the wonderful indie selection at itch.io are currently being met with a connection error, as the domain has been taken down entirely – and not by accident, if the claims made by the marketplace’s social media accounts are true.

“I kid you not, itch.io has been taken down by Funko because they use some trash ‘AI Powered’ Brand Protection Software called BrandShield that created some bogus Phishing report to our registrar, iwantmyname, who ignored our response and just disabled the domain,” a statement reads.

A follow-up post emphasized that itch.io complied with the report, taking down the disputed page “as soon as we got the notice because it’s not worth fighting stuff like that.”

“Regardless, our registrar's automated system likely kicked [in] to disable the domain since no one read our confirmation of removal,” itch.io added.

Although the marketplace briefly considered setting up shop on a new domain, it appears to have settled on waiting things out for now, as “there are implications with third party services that make it not a trivial swap.”

BrandShield, the program accused by itch.io to be behind the report, claims to provide clients with “cutting-edge online brand protection using AI-powered technology to proactively monitor digital landscapes for trademark infringements, phishing attempts, brand abuse, and counterfeit activity.” Its clients include Dropbox, New Balance, and Levi’s, according to the company's website.

With itch.io being unavailable – only temporarily, hopefully – tens of thousands of indie games usually sold through the platform are currently not available for purchase. There is some good news, though: Customers can still play installed games even though the platform is down.