Itch.io back up after domain taken down by Funko anti-phishing claim

Itch.io has taken to Bluesky today to report that their domain was taken down by Funko, creators of the ubiquitous Funko Pop toys. However, the domain was later reinstated by the registrar. This was allegedly caused inadvertently by Funko’s use of AI-powered anti-phishing software called BrandShield.

The post specifically refers to the software as “some trash ‘AI Powered’ Brand Protection Software called Brand Shield” and reports that it “ created some bogus Phishing report to our registrar, iwantmyname.” They also state that the registrar ignored their response to the software’s claim and disabled the domain. Something tells me that once they regain control of their domain, it’s going to be transferred to a different registrar.

BrandShield is a service that “proactively monitor(s) digital landscapes for trademark infringements, phishing attempts, brand abuse, and counterfeit activity.” If itch.io’s allegations are accurate, then the service is accusing them of appropriating Funko’s name to try and scam people who think they’re purchasing from Funko. Which, to a human like you or me is ridiculous. A toaster, on the other hand, could be fooled. Clearly.

As itch.io is a rather open indie-game marketplace, it’s possible that a game on it references Funko either directly or indirectly, which may have drawn the attention of the BrandShield refrigerator. That seems to be the case, since in a follow-up post on Twitter, itch says that they reacted to the claim by taking down the “disputed page” as soon as they got the notice. The suggest that the takedown was done by the registrars automated system, “since no one read our confirmation of removal.”

The situation ticks off a lot of boxes on the nausea card. You have a corporate giant built on the back of functionless gewgaws attacking a small, barely-for-profit marketplace for independent creators. You have AI working outside of legal norms on behalf of that corporation. And then, just to top the whole thing off, you have a company turning a deaf ear to one of their customers and acting without due consideration.

However, the happy ending (I guess) is that the site wasn’t down for long. After several hours, the registrar responded to the notice and reinstated the domain. As of right now, the site is once again accessible. Neither company has released a statement about the situation since the site returned.

Human error is a hell of a thing, but at least there are repercussions for the person responsible. AI and similar automated services are like a child that the parents refuse to discipline. Their behavior is not corrected, nor do they face any scrutiny. The people holding the leash just shrug and let their little monster become everyone’s problem. But at least itch got their domain back.