Italian retro gaming YouTuber Once Were Nerd recently revealed that he was visited by Italian law enforcement, with concerns that his reviews of third-party gaming handhelds could be in breach of Italian copyright law. If charged, the YouTuber could face jail time or hefty fines.
The YouTuber revealed on his channel, as reported by Insider Gaming, that he is being investigated by the Guardia di Finanza, a law enforcement agency under Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance. Armed with a search warrant, the agency seized his phone, as well as over 30 handheld gaming systems.
The concerns center around third-party handhelds Once Were Nerd has reviewed on his channel, by manufacturers such as Anbernic and GoRetroid. The handhelds often ship with unauthorized ROMs of various retro games originally published by companies like Sony and Nintendo.
The agency is investigating potential breaches of Italian copyright law, under which it’s illegal to promote copyrighted material via social media. Once Were Nerd disputes that he was promoting the devices, saying that none of his material was sponsored by the console manufacturers, and that he is simply providing impartial reviews of available products.
If officially charged, Once Were Nerd could face fines of up to 30 million Italian Lira and up to three years of jail time, as well as the threat of having all his channels shut down by the authorities. The investigation is still ongoing.
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