PLEDIS Entertainment has released an official update regarding its ongoing legal efforts to protect TWS from malicious attacks online.
On September 19, the agency announced that it had filed criminal complaints and pursued civil litigation against multiple accounts responsible for repeatedly posting insulting, defamatory, and mocking content targeting TWS members on X (formerly Twitter). To further identify the individuals behind these accounts, PLEDIS is also taking additional legal steps, including information disclosure requests with overseas courts.
Hello.
This is PLEDIS Entertainment.
Recently, there has been a rapid and serious increase in malicious posts targeting TWS with defamation, insults, and ill-intentioned criticism. In response, we are taking legal action based on evidence gathered from our internal monitoring and fan reports. Below is the summary of our key activities:
We have collected extensive evidence of the indiscriminate distribution of malicious posts and comments that infringe upon the rights of our artists, including those targeting domestic communities (TheQoo, DC Inside, Instiz, Weverse, Naver, Daum, Nate, Ilgan Best, FMKorea, etc.), music sites (Melon, Bugs Music, Genie Music, etc.), and international social media channels (X, Instagram, YouTube, etc.). Based on this evidence, we have filed criminal complaints with the investigative authorities.
Notably, we have initiated legal action, including civil litigation, against multiple accounts that have repeatedly posted severely insulting, defamatory, and mocking posts targeting specific members on the “X” platform. Additionally, to confirm the identities of the account holders and take follow-up measures, we are currently proceeding with legal procedures, including information disclosure requests, with overseas courts, including those in the United States.
We would like to stress once again that publicly insulting artists with the intent to defame or slander their reputation and violate their personality rights not only causes severe harm to the artists but is also an illegal act punishable under the law. We will not offer any settlement or leniency for these rights infringements, and we will hold those responsible accountable through thorough evidence collection and legal proceedings, no matter how long it takes.
Your interest and reports are of great help in our legal response. Should you encounter malicious posts related to our artists, please report them through the “HYBE Artist Rights Violation Report Website.”
To ensure that fan reports are effectively used in legal actions, we would like to provide some guidelines for reporting. Please ensure that URLs, usernames, post content, and the date of the screenshot are clearly visible in your submission, as this information is critical for legal proceedings.
To this end, please submit full-screen screenshots from a PC or full-page print files (PDF) with all information clearly visible, rather than submitting mobile screenshots if possible, as this will greatly assist in the legal proceedings.
We are always grateful for the affection and dedication shown by the fans of TWS. We will continue to work to ensure that the rights of our artists are fully protected.
Thank you.