Gabriela Solon asks DICT for stricter measures after BINI deepfake

(BINI/X)

Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas urged the Department Of Information And Communications Technology (DICT) to strengthen measures against maliciously manipulated photos and videos following deepfakes targeting P-pop girl group BINI.

During the agency’s plenary debates on Friday, September 20, Brosas noted that the sexually exploitative photos and videos of BINI circulated on social media amounted to outright sexual harassment.

“Very popular, er, tapos nagagawa sa kanila ‘yung ganito tapos tinatangkilik ‘yun online,” she said in her interpellation.

(They are very popular, and then this happens to them, and it is abused online.)

The DICT, through its budget sponsor, Rep. Luis Campos Jr. of Makati City 2nd District, has assured Brosas of their action in this matter through the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).

However, Brosas pointed out that CICC was only “building its capacity,” and then only “in relation to” online child sexual abuse and exploitation (OSAEC).

The age of the eight members of the BINI ranges from 19 to 23 years.

The DICT is also in the process of concluding agreements with social media providers such as Meta, TikTok and Google to launch ‘banners’ for deepfake content.

“It may be deepfake, IBA banner to I-identify that it is not authentic. It is considered a deepfake, it will go to social media platforms and hopefully we can have that,” Campos said.

(If it is a deepfake, there will be a banner to indicate that it is not authentic. It will then be considered a deepfake. It will appear on social media platforms and hopefully we can make that happen.)

Brosas went on to stress that deepfake technology doesn’t just pose a “significant threat” to BINI, other celebrities or even politicians. She says it’s a concern for society as a whole.

“The government must take proactive measures to address this emerging and alarming challenge,” she stressed.

BINI, known as the country’s top female act, is known for their hits “Pantropiko” and “Salamin, Salamin”.