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Nintendo issued a large batch of DMCA takedown notices targeting GitHub repositories hosting Switch emulation software and firmware used by hardware mod chips. The sweep removed numerous projects tied to emulating or circumventing the Switch's security, according to reports of the GitHub notices.
Nintendo issued four DMCA takedown notices to GitHub, hitting the Switch emulators Yuzu and Citron Neo as well as 144 repositories hosting mod chip firmware used with devices like Picofly. GitHub removed the listed repositories and replaced them with takedown notices, though copies of the firmware reportedly remain hosted elsewhere on the site according to TorrentFreak.
Nintendo of America submitted a DMCA request to GitHub that resulted in the removal of 144 repositories hosting firmware for Switch modchips such as SX Core, SX Lite, Picofly, and HWFLY. Nintendo's notice argues the firmware lets these chips bypass the console's boot sequence and circumvent technological protection measures, enabling piracy of Switch games.
Epic Games issued a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notice this month against a browser-based Fortnite port built using AI coding tools, according to Kotaku. The move comes weeks after Bloomberg reported Epic had directed its own developers to lean more heavily on AI tools to finish a delayed Disney collaboration, a directive that reportedly unsettled staff worried about added errors.
A California federal judge rejected Denuvo's original 46 subpoena requests seeking to unmask the game-cracking figure known as Voices38, ruling the requests exceeded what was needed for identification and raised privacy concerns. Denuvo revised the request down to nine subpoenas targeting Discord, Valve, and Reddit, which the judge has now approved. The move is part of Denuvo's DMCA lawsuit against Voices38 over alleged circumvention of its anti-tamper technology.
The creator of browser-based editor Photopea reports that AI tools are being used to strip JavaScript code from the site, remove ads, and republish it as standalone repositories on GitHub. After filing a DMCA notice on September 4, 2026, the developer received a response a month later stating GitHub could not confirm a violation of 17 U.S. Code ยง 1201, and is now asking the HN community for advice, including whether to pursue legal action.
A customer alerted Easy Data Transform's developer to a fake GitHub repository impersonating the company's product name and logo, hosting a Mac .dmg file flagged by VirusTotal as malware. The developer reported the imitation to GitHub on August 31 and submitted further evidence on September 10, but received only an automated response until the listing was finally removed on September 24, shortly after the issue reached the front page of Hacker News.
Outgoing Republican Representative Darrell Issa has introduced legislation that would let copyright holders secure court orders forcing internet providers, domain name resolvers, and VPN services to block access to foreign piracy websites. The bill follows similar site-blocking proposals from other lawmakers backed by the Motion Picture Association, and comes after Issa signaled his intent at a June 30 hearing.
YouTuber and right-to-repair advocate Louis Rossmann is touring the US with his nonprofit Fulu, holding events that push to repeal Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which bans bypassing manufacturer-imposed digital locks on devices. The San Jose stop drew about 80 attendees and featured panels from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a university repair workshop, and Fisker vehicle owners fighting to keep their cars running. Fulu also pays bounties to people willing to break digital locks on hardware, even risking legal consequences.
Denuvo has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against an unidentified hacker known as 'voices38,' accusing them of circumventing its Anti-Tamper protection in at least 26 titles, including Hogwarts Legacy, Black Myth: Wukong, Resident Evil Requiem, and Doom: The Dark Ages. Since Denuvo doesn't hold copyrights to these games, the suit relies on the DMCA's anti-circumvention rules rather than copyright infringement claims, seeking damages and an injunction against further tampering.
Microsoft, acting through TracerAI, has withdrawn its DMCA takedown notice that accused the open-source voxel game Luanti of infringing Minecraft's copyright. The Luanti app has been reinstated on Google Play immediately, without needing to wait out the standard counter-notice period, signaling Microsoft has abandoned the case entirely.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and GTA III are once again playable directly in a web browser, this time hosted on a site called Quenq, after an earlier browser port on DOS Zone was pulled following a DMCA claim from Take-Two. The new version still carries DOS Zone branding in its pause menu, supports keyboard, controller and touchscreen input, and includes a save/mod manager plus adjustable frame rate, running smoothly past 100 FPS on desktop and working instantly on mobile devices like the OnePlus 12.