WTF?! An Italian YouTuber has reportedly landed in legal trouble for reviewing Android-based retro gaming emulator handhelds that came with preloaded ROMs. Francesco Salicini, who runs the retro gaming channel Once Were Nerd, says he could even face jail time under Italian law for merely discussing pirated games on his channel.
In a video titled “They Reported Me,” Salicini alleges that the Economic and Financial Crimes unit of the Italian police raided his home on April 15 and seized 30 consoles. These included handhelds from TrimUI, Powkiddy, and Anbernic, which came bundled with microSD cards filled with ROMs. The police also confiscated his personal phone but returned it in late June.
Salicini was told he had violated Article 171 of Italian law, which prohibits promoting content that infringes on intellectual property rights. He claims that the complaint against his channel mentions the illegal reproduction of copyrighted content from Sony and Nintendo. However, it remains unclear whether either company filed a complaint or if the police acted independently.
In Italy, law enforcement officials are not required to disclose the exact charges or the identity of the accuser. Authorities claimed that Salicini’s reviews of Anbernic devices containing pirated ROMs violated Italian copyright law.
If found guilty, he could face significant fines or up to three years in prison. Officials could also deactivate his YouTube channel, which currently has more than 50,000 subscribers.
Salicini has defended his content, stating that his reviews do not constitute promoting pirated material. He also denied publishing sponsored reviews of Anbernic products and said he never included affiliate links in his videos. Salicini added that he has hired a lawyer and is fully cooperating with investigators. He has also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover his legal expenses.
For those unfamiliar, Anbernic is a Chinese company known for producing retro gaming handhelds that emulate classic video game consoles such as the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64. These devices typically run on Android or Linux and are often shipped with microSD cards containing thousands of retro game ROMs.