Within the last 24 hours, Funko’s takedown of Itch.io has left both the platform owner and its users fuming over the inconvenience of it all. Indie game hosting website Itch.io was taken offline after a Funko report over a phishing claim ended up targeting the entire domain instead of a single page.
Itch.io accused Funko of filing a “bogus” phishing report that was made to their registrar using “some trash ‘AI-Powered’ Brand Protection Software called BrandShield.” The website went down around 2 AM ET and it was unclear whether it would be possible to bring it back up. Thankfully, around 7 AM ET, the website was available and accessible once more, with tch.io turning to Twitter/X to confirm the news.
Image: Pexels
Funko’s Takedown of itch.io Was Brief But Noteworthy
Itch.io has spent the last few years building itself as a top spot for indie game developers and fans to come together and establish an enthusiastic community. The platform has played a big role in the emergence of games like Vampire Survivor, so it has a commendable legacy, albeit a niche one to many. On Monday, the website found itself inconvenienced by a phishing report.
Before the indie marketplace went offline, Funko of “Funko Pop” fame had used BrandShield’s services to scan the web for any violations of its IP rights online. In the course of the search, it is believed that the service found that a single itch.io user had made a fan page for a Funko Fusion video game, which linked back to the original Funko site. This resulted in the Funko phishing report against Itch.io.
For its part, the indie gaming platform claimed that it took down the page at fault immediately as this was not an issue it wanted to go to war over, however, the move wasn’t enough to put an end to the matter. It appears the web page’s “registrar’s automated system likely kicked in to disable the domain since no one read our confirmation of removal.”
There was initial consideration over putting up a new domain if the website was not allowed back up soon, but this would have been a complex endeavor and not worth the effort if the registrar could aid in bringing the service back up—which is what it eventually did.
On This Day, We Rise Above Funko Pop
The site is back up if you haven’t noticed
— itch.io (@itchio) December 9, 2024
The itch.io Platform Is No Longer Offline but Fans Remain Angry at Funko
Funko’s takedown of Itch.io was temporary and the website has now been restored to full functionality once more. The post announcing the restoration has drawn in a number of users expressing their relief over the return, along with a few words on their ongoing dislike of all things Funko Pop.
These users were unlikely to have been the memorabilia company’s target audience even before the incident occurred so it should not face any serious repercussions from the entire conflict, but it is interesting to see how public opinion regarding the uber-popular business has shifted over the years.
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…
— Funko (@OriginalFunko) December 9, 2024
Funko released a statement earlier today, explaining that the takedown request was for a specific page that imitated the Funko Fusion development website only. The company also expressed that it was happy to see that the rest of the website was back up.
The lack of an apology for the incident has not gone unnoticed by Itch.io fans who have encouraged the indie marketplace to take legal action and seek monetary compensation for the entire episode, however short-lived.
Image: Itch.io is back online.
BrandShield Blames the Service Providers for the Temporary Takedown
BrandShield filed the Itch.io phishing report on behalf of Funko, and the brand protection company has also received its share of the backlash. In response, the AI-powered company took to Twitter/X to explain itself by shifting the blame to the service provider for the takedown of the entire website instead of just the URL that it had reported.
“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, “ the company stated in a follow-up post. Again, consumers have not found the company’s response to be satisfactory.
The entire situation has ended on a more positive note considering that the registrar has allowed the domain to go back up, however, the incident is a cautionary tale against the overreliance on AI tools. There is a very real need for more supervision of the changes initiated by any organization.