BTS Fan Accounts Suspended Over Fake Copyright Claims Made By Trolls

An online group has targeted prominent Twitter accounts related to South Korean boyband BTS with a barrage of false copyright claims, causing a number of accounts to be taken down.

The Facebook group of trolls, who call themselves "Team Copyright," saved pictures from BTS fan accounts and reposted them on their own websites or Flickr accounts after they changed the dates of the photos so they would predate the original uploads, BuzzFeed News reported.

They would then report the fan accounts for "stealing" their image in fraudulent copyright claims to Twitter, which often resulted in the account getting suspended or being hit with a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice, according to the outlet.

Twitter did not clarify if copyright claims were viewed and evaluated by people or were automatically processed.

Those affected by Team Copyright, which is purportedly based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, included Twitter accounts with over a million followers such as BTS Charts & Translations (@charts_k), BTS Vote (@btsvotingorg) and BTS Translations/Bangtansubs (@BTS_Trans), a report by The Verge said.

Team Copyright's members would allegedly brag about the fan accounts that they had targeted and had gotten suspended, according to BuzzFeed News.

The group also claimed they were able to get an official BTS Twitter account taken down. Additionally, Twitter selfies of members Suga and RM, whose real names are Min Yoon-gi and Kim Nam-joon, respectively, were temporarily removed from the social media site after they were reposted online by Team Copyright members.

The online harassment started on Facebook back in September when a page for Bangladeshi BTS fans started receiving "disturbing" messages after misinformation that claimed BTS was anti-Muslim went viral.

The group explained that they targeted the boyband's fandom for being "toxic" due to its support for the LGBTQ+ community and atheists.

"We have suspended their accounts because they are supporting [gay] and atheist fans," Team Copyright's 800-member Facebook group said in a statement posted on the platform. "We will basically destroy the toxic fanbase from now on."

The group has since been removed from Facebook for violating the site's policies, said a spokesperson for Meta, the social media giant's parent company.

"We do not tolerate bullying and harassment because it prevents people from feeling safe and respected on Facebook," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Many of the fan accounts who were targeted chose not to appeal and file a DMCA "counter-notice" on Twitter. The form they would need to fill out requires personal information such as their full name, home address, email and phone number and would be sent to the person who reported them.