Google removes open source game due to mistake made by artificial intelligence agent

Tracer.AI is a service that uses AI agents to automatically find copyright infringements. They sent a DMCA notice to Luanti — an open source game engine that has been around for over 20 years. This notice was sent “on behalf” of Microsoft, claiming that Luanti violated the copyright of Minecraft Java Edition 1.9 (only its registration number was listed), without providing any specific details about the infringement. As a result, Google Play automatically and instantly took the application down.

1How DMCA Automation Works

Tracer.AI claims to be a platform for content owners and offers “85% faster take downs” by automating the process with AI. They send notices without proper human scrutiny; their DMCA notice only mentioned the general Minecraft registration without pointing out any specific part of Luanti that violates the copyright.

2Not the First Time

Back in 2023, Luanti (at that time known as Minetest) also faced a DMCA complaint. It took them 46 days to get reinstated, which is 3–4 times longer than the legal limit (10–14 working days). Something similar happened with the Allumeria game in February 2025. While automation makes it easy to remove content, it doesn’t help with the reinstatement process, creating an imbalance that can harm legitimate open-source projects.