BINI Office vows to take action against inappropriate deepfakes

BINI in a backstage photo during their “BINIverse” concert at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City. Image: Instagram/@bini_ph

Star Music, the agency of P-pop powerhouse BINannounced that it is taking action against inappropriate deepfake videos and photos of its members, due to concerns about the girl group’s safety.

In a statement posted on BINI’s social media platforms on Monday, September 2, their label said it “strongly condemns” the harmful actions against the P-pop girl group.

“It has come to our attention that malicious, edited deep fake photos and videos of BINI members are circulating on social media. We strongly condemn these harmful acts. Our team has already taken action to remove some of these accounts,” the post read.

#BINI :Advise photo.twitter.com/iREzIL7S7q

— BINI_PH (@BINI_ph) September 2, 2024

The label added that it is working with the “appropriate government agencies and authorities” to address the issue.

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“We are working with the appropriate government agencies and authorities to identify the individuals behind these acts and take legal action. The safety and well-being of BINI remains our top priority. We will continue to monitor and take all necessary action against any form of exploitation or intimidation,” it added.

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The statement comes after devoted fans of BINI, aka Blooms, brought the girl group’s label to the attention of the group after sexually exploitative deepfake videos and photos allegedly showing the members’ faces circulated in a Telegram chat group and on social media.

According to some reports, fans indicated that they had been asking the label for months to draw attention to the issue.

PROTECT BINI AT ALL COSTS #SMProtectBINI@StarMusicPH @direklauren @starmagicphils photo.twitter.com/xCUYL8CDDc

— ًً (@dearmkha) September 2, 2024

Given the recent issues that have arisen from malicious posts and people targeting the girls, we support Blooms’ goal of being heard by management.

PROTECT BINI AT ALL COSTS #SMProtectBINI@StarMusicPH @starmagicphils

— BINI Fan Support ౨ৎ (@binifansupport) September 2, 2024

It has been months, and we have been ignored. Despite the extensive efforts and resources of the team, we were still ignored. Alam nyo yan. Wala kayong narinig na reklamo galing sa amin.

But yes, in the past @BINI_ph @StarMusicPH @direklauren?

PROTECT BINI AT ALL COSTS

— BLOOM PHILIPPINES (@TEAMBLOOMPH) September 1, 2024

This led to Blooms creating the hashtag “#SMProtectBINI” and the keyword “PROTECT BINI AT ALL COST”, with the hashtag topping the Philippine trends on X (formerly Twitter).

Image: Screenshot of X

Deepfake is a form of AI-generated content (via photo, video or audio recording) of a person digitally altered to look like someone else. This has raised concerns among tech watchers and other netizens as it could become a tool for misinformation and sexual harassment.

In South Korea, record labels JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, ADOR (All Doors One Room) and Woollim Entertainment have pledged to take action against deepfakes, after reports emerged that female artists from these labels had been victims of sexual deepfakes.

In an August 2024 report from BBCSouth Korean authorities discovered several chat rooms with sexually explicit deepfake images of women and underage girls, leading to calls to combat digital sex crime.