Launched in 2013, itch.io lets customers host and promote indie video video games on-line — now providing greater than 200,000 — in addition to different digital content material like music and comics. However then somebody uploaded a web page based mostly on a significant videogame title, in accordance with Recreation Rant. And someway this provoked a sequence of overreactions and missteps that ultimately knocked all of itch.io offline for a number of hours…
The web page was concerning the first launch from sport developer 10:10 — their sport Funko Fusion, which options characters within the model of Funko’s long-running pop-culture bobbleheads. As a significant model, Funko screens the net with a “model safety” associate (named BrandShield). Curiously, BrandShield’s SaaS product “leverages AI-driven on-line model safety,” in accordance with their website, to “detect and take away” issues like model impersonations “with over 98% success. Our superior takedown capabilities prevent time…” (Though BrandShield’s CEO advised the Verge that following AI reviews “our group of Cybersecurity Menace hunters and IP attorneys resolve on what actions ought to be taken.”) Which means after robotically recognizing the itch.io web page with its web-crawling software program, it was BrandShield’s “group of Cybersecurity Menace hunters and IP attorneys” who determined to take motion (for that particular web page). However itch.io founder Leaf Corcoran commented on social media:
From what I can inform, some individual made a fan web page for an present Funko Pop online game (Funko Fusion), with hyperlinks to the official website and screenshots of the sport. The BrandShield software program might be instructed to eradicate all “unauthorized” use of their trademark, in order that they despatched reviews independently to our host and registrar claiming there was “fraud and phishing” happening, more likely to trigger escalation as a substitute of doing the anticipated DMCA/cease-and-desist. Due to this, I actually suppose they’re the malicious actor in all of this.
Corcoran says he replied to each his registrar (iwantmyname) and to his website’s host, telling them he’d eliminated the offending web page (and disabled its uploader’s account). This glad his host, Corcoran writes — however the registrar’s proprietor later advised him they’d by no means acquired his reply.
“And that is why they took the area down.”
In an interview with Polygon, Corcoran factors out that the net web page in query had already been handled 5 days earlier than his registrar offlined his whole website. “No communication after that…. No ‘We’ve not heard from you, we’re about to close your area down’ or something like that.”
Defending themselves over the incident, BrandShield posted on X.com that they’d recognized an “infringement” (additionally calling it an “abuse”), and that they’d requested “a takedown of the URL in query — not of the whole itch.io area.” However X.com readers added this context. “Whole domains don’t go down on the premise of a copyright takedown request of a person URL. That is the direct results of a fraudulent declare of malicious exercise.”
And Corcoran additionally posted an angry summation on X.com:
I child you not, @itchio has been taken down by @OriginalFunko as a result of they use some trash “AI Powered” Model Safety Software program referred to as @BrandShieldltd that created some bogus Phishing report back to our registrar, @iwantmyname, who ignored our response and simply disabled the area.
The subsequent day Funko’s official account on X.com additionally issued their very own assertion that they “maintain a deep respect and appreciation for indie video games, indie players, and indie builders.” (Although “Added Context” from X.com readers notes Funko’s assertion nonetheless claimed a “takedown request” was issued, quite than what Corcoran says was a false “fraud and phishing” report.)
Funko.com additionally posted that they’d “reached out” to itch.io “to have interaction with them on this concern.” However this simply led to a different offended submit from Corcoran. “This isn’t a joke, Funko simply referred to as my mother.” Cocoran then posted what appears like a screenshot of a textual content message his mom despatched him. Although she does not say which firm was concerned, his mom’s textual content says she “Obtained a wierd name from an organization about accusatory statements in your social media account. Name me…”
Because of ewhac (Slashdot reader #5,844) for sharing the information.
