Earlier today the popular indie storefront itch.io went dark, and the company took to X (formerly Twitter) to explain the alleged reason.
According to the report, the takedown originated from toy manufacturer Funko, mostly known for the Funko Pop collectible figures.
Itch accused Funko of using “some trash “AI Powered” Brand Protection Software” called BrandShield, which allegedly created “bogus” phishing reports to the storefront’s domain registrar Iwantmyname.
BrandShoeld’s social media banner certainly doesn’t make much of a mystery of the company’s direct methods, as you can see below.
The registrar reportedly disabled the domain despite the fact that itch took down the disputed page (they say it’s “not worth fighting stuff like that”), likely due to an automated system that kicked in before anyone could read the confirmation of removal.
At the moment, itch.io appears to be back online, likely because Iwantmyname moved to rectify the situation after receiving itch’s emails demanding to know “WTF is going on.”
BrandShield, the tool in question, claims to “monitor, detect & remove online threats facing companies” by “utilizing propriety AI and big-data based technology.” Totally not a recipe for trouble, right?
Simulation Daily reached out to itch.io, Iwantmyname, and Funko with a request for further information on the issue, and we’ll update this post if we receive any relevant details.
Of course, if the allegations were confirmed, they would raise questions on the safety of using “AI and big-data” that could allow a company to take down another legitimate company’s business for several hours without the involvement of human supervision and oversight.
Update: BrandShield publicly commented attributing the responsibility of the full takedown of the website to the service provider. It’s worth mentioning that the comment did not directly address itch.io’s claim that BrandShield’s report was “bogus.”
“We want to address recent reports surrounding a website takedown.
BrandShield serves as a trusted partner to many brands. Our AI-driven platform detects potential threats and provides analysis, and in this case, an abuse was identified from an itchio subdomain.
We identified and reported the infringement, and requested a takedown of the URL in question – not of the entire itch(dot)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.”
Incidentally, BrandShield’s statement has been deleted and reposted multiple times, each time receiving considerable backlash. The latest instance of the post had comments disabled.
Update 2: Funko also offered a comment, albeit no apology was included for the mishap.
“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.”
In other indie game news, you can check out all the games presented during the Indie Spotlight segment Indie Live Expo on Saturday, including a number of additional reveals by Playism, Kodansha, Room6, and Kamitsubaki Studio.
