AI-Powered Brand Protection Service Mistakenly Takes Down Indie Gaming Site Itch.io

Funko Pop's AI-powered 'Brand Protection' service temporarily takes down indie gaming site, proving that automation without humans is a mistake

On Monday, December 9, 2024, both the official X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky social media accounts for popular PC indie gaming site Itch.io posted that the entire domain had been disabled. The cause? An automated AI 'brand protection' service. According to Itch.io creator Leafo (and reported by Kitguru), Funko Pop's BrandShield service flagged a Funko Pop fan page as "fraud and phishing" and automatically filed takedown requests with Itch.io's hosting provider and domain registrar. Despite Leafo having already complied with the takedown request, the domain registrar's automated system responded by deactivating the Itch.io domain without any human input, which resulted in the entire site being taken offline. As of this writing, Itch.io is back online, to the relief of gamers and especially indie developers reliant on it. However, this is clearly a case of how the use of AI-powered services and systems without human input or intervention can be disastrous. As widely used and applicable AI is, there are drawbacks and negatives to its exclusive use. Like any tool, it can be a great aid for many -- being a spell and grammar checker, applied to accessibility features, used for live language translations, automating repetitive and laborious work, and plenty more. But the point of AI assistance is just that, assistance. It's meant as a tool to make large-scale tasks easier but not to replace humans themselves. And stories like these are exactly why. AI triggered a response that it was programed to do but without any situational context as to what happened, whether there was a need to flagged those reports as such, and whether the fan page warranted a flagging to begin with. Then another AI program, one also operating with no input or context, responded automatically and took the most drastic action it was programmed to do. The only way to correct these errors was through human interventation (which took nearly a full day), and if humans had been involved in the process from the start this whole situation wouldn't have escalated this far. Especially since the AI response for the domain takedown in the first place was from BrandShield which, according to its website, is an AI-powered service that protects from phishing attempts and fraudulent websites as well as offers "brand protection." While this seems like a useful and even vital service for high profile businesses with valuable IPs, the results unmonitored by a human can be disastrous. I want to hope that Funko Pop and even the domain registrar, iwantmyname, have learned an important lesson in why humans must be intregal to any process involving AI-powered tools. But, knowing how often these situations occur, most likely not.

Indie games site Itch.io temporarily taken down by Funko, due to 'AI-powered' brand protection company that 'created some bogus phishing report'

Itch.io, a website used to host a heap of games -- primarily self-published indie projects -- was taken down briefly this morning (or over the weekend, depending on time zones) thanks to, uh, Funko of Funko Pop infamy. I'm about as confused as you, and the site's creator Leafo, are. As posted to both Bluesky and X, the site was "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 later clarified that it "did take the disputed page down 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." If you're curious about BrandShield, it's an AI-powered "solution" to things like phishing attempts, fraudulent websites and, with relevance to this specific case, "brand protection". While it's borderline impossible to pierce through the thick fog of business-speak (the world "holistic" is thrown around a bunch) to find a promise that BrandShield actually has people who know what they're doing vetting these takedown requests, the site's page on brand protection describes the specifics of its zealotry. "You will expose your brand to online attacks if you only protect your registered domain. Make sure to also protect yourself from external digital threats and monitor these important elements," the site states, before listing "visuals of both company logos and product images" and "written and recorded content" as risk factors. As for the page in question, Itch.io's creator breaks it down in a thread on Hacker News: "From what I can tell, some person made a fan page for an existing Funko Pop video game (Funko Fusion), with links to the official site and screenshots of the game. The BrandShield software is probably instructed to eradicate all 'unauthorized' 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." Leafo states they'd received reports from their host to take the page down, and had done so days in advance: "I expressed my disappointment in my responses to both of them but told them I had removed the page and disabled the account. Linode confirmed and closed the case. iwantmyname never responded. ... I noticed that the domain status had been set to 'serverHold' on iwantmyname's domain panel. We have no other abuse reports from iwantmyname other than this one." Taking all of this at face value (I have reached out to Funko for comment, and will update this article if I receive a response) this really does seem like a domino-effect snafu powered by AI and, well, incompetence. Automated technology overreacted, as it tends to do, while Itch.io's domain host dragged its feet. As a result, one of the biggest hosts of indie games lost out on hours of potential revenue -- which has a knock-on effect to the developers using the website to peddle their virtual wares. It looks like it's mostly been resolved, with Itch.io back online at the time of writing. But phew, at least Funko's brand is protected -- that was a close call, everybody.

AI-Generated Phishing Report Pulls Indie Game Site Itch.io Offline

Moon Watch, a game on Itch.io. (Credit: Thejaspel/Moon Watch via Itch.io) Itch.io, a website that hosts indie games, was taken down by its domain registrar early Monday morning after Funko submitted a phishing report against it using third-party software. "They use some trash 'AI Powered' Brand Protection Software called BrandShield," Itch.io said around 2 a.m. ET Monday morning, adding that its domain registrar "ignored our response and just disabled the domain." BrandShield's website confirms its anti-phishing service issues automated takedown notices to "remediate online brand abuse," but Itch.io says the phishing report was "bogus." Itch.io suspects its registrar, Iwantmyname, also used automation to send its site offline without human oversight. "For transparency, we did take the disputed page down as soon as we got the notice because it's not worth fighting stuff like that," Itch.io wrote, without saying which page had been flagged. "Regardless, our registrar's automated system likely kicked to disable the domain since no one read our confirmation of removal." AI-powered tools can cause false positives or hallucinations. It's unclear whether the Itch.io web page that was reported used Funko branding or was entirely unrelated to the vinyl toy brand. PCMag has contacted Funko, Itch.io, and BrandShield for comment. Iwantmyname posted a notice on its site that reads: "We are aware of the issue regarding itch.io. This is a legal matter which we are currently investigating." The Verge notes that the indie game site was down for about five hours before it was restored. Last month, Itch.io began allowing users who had spent at least $10 on the site to use their handle and domain on Bluesky as well.

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

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".

Itch.io falls prey to 'trash AI' as 'bogus' phishing claim darkens site for hours

Civilization VI: Netflix is the best way to experience the award-winning strategy game on mobile Key Takeaways Itch.io was taken down due to a false phishing report linked to Funko's AI brand protection software. The issue highlights the potential pitfalls of relying on AI technology over human oversight. Itch.io is back up and running, but the incident serves as a cautionary tale of AI's limitations. ✕ Remove Ads Early this morning, Itch.io's X (Twitter) account called out that the site was down, pointing to a phishing report delivered to the site's registrar that caused the domain to be disabled. Of course, if you're familiar with Itch.io and its many Android games, then you already know it is a rather popular site for indie titles, which is why the domain shortly being disabled is such a strange story. Couple this with the claim that Funko's (of Funko Pop vinyl figure fame) AI-powered brand recognition software is somehow the cause of the false phishing report, and the entire situation is a perfect example of why utilizing AI to do jobs humans should be doing can have ridiculous results. Thankfully, Itch.io is back up as of 7 AM Eastern Monday morning, so the downtime was luckily short-lived. ✕ Remove Ads Here, you can see Itch.io's X (Twitter) account calling out Funko, its AI-powered brand protection software known as BrandShield, as well as their own registrar for ignoring their response calling out the bogus phishing report. This is peak internet, clearly, with AI running afoul of actual humans that know better, but thanks to endless automation, it took some time to sort this mess out, where the site was unreachable to many users for about five hours. It's unlikely any major harm was caused by the disabled domain, but it's still an annoyance, with some sales likely lost. But at the end of the day, it's a pretty amusing story that Funko and the company it hired to protect its brand could have such an effect on a site like Itch.io. Chalk this one up as another instance of AI failing to do its job, a rather popular story over the past year as many companies have learned the hard lesson that AI automation isn't always in the best interest of the users. ✕ Remove Ads

itch.io says it was taken down by Funko

Oli Welsh is senior editor, U.K., providing news, analysis, and criticism of film, TV, and games. He has been covering the business & culture of video games for two decades. itch.io spent hours completely offline on Sunday night -- and the indie game marketplace placed the blame on an automated takedown generated on behalf of Funko, maker of the Funko Pop collectable figurines. "I kid you not, @itchio has been taken down by @OriginalFunko," the site posted to X in the early hours of Monday morning. itch.io said Funko uses "some trash 'AI Powered' Brand Protection Software" that generated a "bogus Phishing report" about the itch.io site. This report was sent to itch.io's domain registrar iwantmyname, which went ahead and disabled the site. This action was also likely taken by an "automated system," itch.io said. itch.io claimed to have taken down the "disputed page" that triggered the phishing report immediately on receiving the takedown notice, but said no-one at iwantmyname appeared to have read the email confirming the page's removal. Contacted for comment by Polygon, an iwantmyname representative said, "The domain name was already reinstated earlier today after the registrant finally responded to our notice and took appropriate action to resolve the issue." At the time iwantmyname's reply was sent, itch.io appeared to have been back online for less than 40 minutes. itch.io came back online between 5 and 6 a.m. EST on Monday morning, after at least three hours during which it was completely offline for most users, including both players and developers who use the open platform. Games and other products already bought from itch.io could be used without issue, but the storefront outage will have been a significant problem for creators who use it for distribution. The software allegedly used by Funko that took the itch.io site down is made by a company called BrandShield. BrandShield describes itself as an "AI-powered online anti-counterfeiting solution" that monitors for "trademark infringements, phishing attempts, brand abuse, and counterfeit activity."

Indie game marketplace Itch.io got taken down due to a faulty Funko AI

Itch.io, a popular indie game marketplace, was down yesterday and today because of Funko, according to an X post shared by Itch.io. Itcho.io claims that the company behind Funko Pops uses "some trash AI-powered" software that generated a "bogus phishing report" to the site's registrar. Although Itch.io responded, the registrar still disabled the domain. Itch.io believes the site was taken down by an automated system. If you've never heard of Itch.io, the website functions like a digital marketplace. It allows users to sell and distribute indie games, assets, music, comics, and a lot more. It's also one of the most popular sites for trying out lesser-known indie titles and exploring what's out there. While it was down for a few hours, it appears to be live again, at least in some countires. Recommended Videos I kid you not, @itchio has been taken down by @OriginalFunko because they use some trash "AI Powered" Brand Protection Software called @BrandShieldltd that created some bogus Phishing report to our registrar, @iwantmyname, who ignored our response and just disabled the domain — itch.io (@itchio) December 9, 2024 Please enable Javascript to view this content Itch.io did clarify that the page that set off the phishing report has been taken down. Fans on X were quick to toss around the word "lawsuit," but for now, the company just wants to get the site back on track. Thankfully, Itch.io didn't lose any content while it was down. As far as we know, no data was lost. It was just inaccessible until the issue was resolved. It did mean that creators who rely on the platform did likely see a loss of income for a few hours. Itch.io currently hosts more than 1 million different products. Thankfully, if you have already downloaded the games, you can still play them even while the site is down (you can thank DRM-free titles for that). While the site was still completely down, Itch.io followed up its initial post with another message, saying: "We're probably going to wait this one out. We considered putting up a new domain, but there are implications with third-party services that make it not a trivial swap. In the meantime, if you know how to tweak your hosts file use: 45.33.107.166." If you know what you're doing, tweaking the hosts file can be a potential workaround. However, the site does appear to be online for some people depending on what country you're in.

Itch.io platform briefly goes down to "AI-driven" anti-phishing report

Popular indie game platform itch.io says its domain was briefly taken down for a few hours Monday morning thanks to an "AI-driven" phishing report spurred by the company behind Funko Pop figures. Itch.io management posted about the domain takedown on social media overnight, complaining of a chain of events that started because "Funko of 'Funko Pop'... 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," the post said. In a Hacker News comment, Itch.io founder Leaf "Leafo" Cohran said that the BrandShield complaint seems to have originated from a single itch.io user who "made a fan page for an existing Funko Pop video game (Funko Fusion), with links to the official site and screenshots of the game." That led to independent reports to Itch's host and registrar of "fraud and phishing" a few days ago. While Cochran says the offending page was taken down immediately after the complaints were filed, he suspects the initial complaint meant "our registrar's automated system likely kicked to disable the domain since no one read our confirmation of removal."

The world's largest indie website is accused of phishing through AI, and the blame is on Funkos - Softonic

The story you didn't expect to read today: phishing, artificial intelligence, and Funkos The world of indies has been shaken for a few hours today after the largest independent video game website went offline. The issue is somewhat complicated, so let's take it easy. The independent game store Itch.io is now online after being down for a while due to a false phishing report. Although the game store's servers remain online, the website's domain points to IP addresses that do not belong to Itch.io, making it inaccessible to most people. Itch.io blames the pop culture collectibles company Funko for the issues in a post on Twitter, "because they use a garbage brand protection software called 'AI-powered' Brand Protection Software that created some bogus phishing report to our registrar." Although the page in question has been removed, the domain registrar of itch.io, iwantmyname, continues to disable the domain, probably due to automated systems. According to a post on X, the indie game marketplace is now waiting for the domain registrar to respond and re-enable its domain. If you know how to modify your hosts file that assigns hostnames to IP addresses, you can use the IP address 45.33.107.166 in the meantime, but you will need to remove the entry once the domain is restored. Itch.io expected that the issues would be resolved within hours to avoid having to deploy a new domain name. We confirm that the website is now operational. The issues with the domain arise just a few days after itch.io began allowing its users to use their domain name for Bluesky accounts. It is difficult to bring together in one topic artificial intelligence, indie video games, phishing, and Funkos.