Funko Pop’s AI-powered ‘Brand Protection’ service temporarily takes down indie gaming site, proving automation without humans is a mistake
- Itch.io was removed due to an automated removal request
- The cause is Funko Pop’s AI-powered BrandShield
- The indie gaming site has been restored after almost a day
On Monday, December 9, 2024, both the official X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky social media accounts for the 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 submitted takedown requests to 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 intervention, resulting in the entire site being taken offline.
I’m not kidding, @itchio was removed by @OriginalFunko because they use some bullshit “AI Powered” brand protection software called @BrandShieldltd which created a fake phishing report to our registrar, @iwantmyname, who ignored our response and just deleted the domainDecember 9, 2024
At the time of writing, Itch.io is back online, much to the relief of gamers and especially indie developers who depend on it. However, this is clearly an example of how using AI-powered services and systems without human input or intervention can be disastrous.
On this day we rise above Funko Pop. The site is back up and running if you haven’t noticed yetDecember 9, 2024
Why AI can’t happen unattended
As widely used and applicable as AI is, there are both advantages and disadvantages to its exclusive use. Like any tool, it can be a great tool for many: it is a spelling and grammar checker, applied to accessibility features, used for live language translations, automating repetitive and labor-intensive work, and much more.
But the point of AI assistance is just that: assistance. It’s meant to be a tool to make large-scale tasks easier, but it’s not replace people themselves. And stories like these are exactly why.
AI triggered a response it was programmed to do, but without any situational context about what happened, whether it was necessary to flag those reports as such, and whether the fan page warranted a flag at all. Then another AI program, one that also operated without input or context, automatically responded and took the most drastic action it was programmed to take.
The only way to correct these mistakes was through human intervention (which took almost a full day), and if people had been involved in the process from the beginning, this whole situation wouldn’t have escalated to this point.
Especially since the AI response to the domain removal came in the first place BrandShield which according to its website is an AI-powered service that protects against phishing attempts and fraudulent websites and also offers ‘brand protection’. While this may seem like a useful and even essential service for high-profile companies with valuable IPs, the results left unchecked by a human can be disastrous.
I hope Funko Pop and even the domain registrar, iwantmyname, have learned an important lesson about why humans must be an integral part of any process involving AI-powered tools. But knowing how common these situations are, most likely not.