"Bogus phishing report" from Funko takes indie game platform itch.io offline

UPDATE 10/12/2024: Both Funko and Brand Shield have responded to the itch.io domain being disabled yesterday, though it's now back up and running.

In a statement shared on social media, Funko said it holds a "deep respect and appreciation for indie games, indie gamers, and indie developers". It continued: "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 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 @itchio platform, and we're happy the site was back up by this morning.

"We have reached out to @itchio 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."

Meanwhile Brand Shield, the AI-powered brand protection system, shared a statement with Eurogamer, noting the use of human action in its process, and the takedown decision was made by the service providers.

It reads in full: "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."

ORIGINAL 09/12/2024: Indie game platform itch.io has been taken offline after Funko allegedly logged a "bogus phishing report" to the website's registrar.

In a brief message posted this morning to Bluesky, the itch.io team said that Funko used "trash" AI-powered brand protection system Brand Shield and despite responding to challenge the phishing report, the site's domain has instead been disabled.

"I kid you not, itch.io has been taken down by Funko of 'Funko Pop' because they use some trash 'AI Powered' Brand Protection Software called Brand Shield that created some bogus Phishing report to our registrar, iwantmyname, who ignored our response and just disabled the domain," the message said.

"I hope you're all having a nice Sunday evening."

I kid you not, @itch.io has been taken down by Funko of "Funko Pop" because they use some trash "AI Powered" Brand Protection Software called Brand Shield that created some bogus Phishing report to our registrar, iwantmyname, who ignored our response and just disabled the domain

— itch.io (@itch.io) December 9, 2024 at 7:13 AM

"Sue them," said one respondent. "Every minute is lost revenue. As someone who hosts games on itch.io I'm pissed at this nonsense."

"Itch should sue Funko, their registrar, and the BrandShield for loss of business on behalf of their own interests and the interest of their users, developers, and buyers," added another. "Because this is something that not only affects itch, but also everyone that hosts jams and releases software and games on there."

At the time of writing, itch.io remains offline.

Itch.io recently announced that it now requires developers to disclose whether generative AI has been used in their work.

In a statement, the platform detailed its new tagging requirement, specifying it is a required field for asset creator pages "to ensure buyers are aware of the origins of the material they are obtaining".