Alright, who put the AI in charge of management again.
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.
