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.