According to GI.biz, Sony has began barring counterfeit and unlicensed peripherals and USB accessories (adapters and flash drives) through the recently released firmware 3.50. Sony says:

SCEA advises consumers to be cautious when buying PlayStation 3 Wireless Controllers from uncertain sources as the quality, reliability and safety of counterfeit products is uncertain, and in some cases, may be dangerous.

It is possible that some counterfeit product may ignite or explode, resulting in injury or damage to the user, your PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, or other property.

Moreover, SCEA does not support continued functionality of counterfeit or unlicensed controllers in system software updates and these devices may cease to function in the future because of system software updates.

Imagine a controller blowing up in your hands for a second 😆 . Anyway, it is believed that there’s a “white list” of accessories that the system now accepts, but there have also been some reports of a few licensed third party accessories that are having issues with the PS3 reading them. This has happened last year as well, with the white counterfeit controllers like in the video.