It may not have been in the original article, but someone here on HN stated it best–this is basically a protection racket

From Wikipedia: "A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a powerful entity or individual coerces other less powerful entities or individuals to pay protection money which allegedly serves to purchase protection services against various external threats, usually violence or property damage."

Powerful entity: Brands in Public with their authority domain and SEO ranking

Purchase protection services: if you pay BIP, you can edit your page, thereby protecting your reputation.

External threats: in this case, not violence but the PR damage your company might suffer if negative/false information appears on the front of your BIP page.