MANILA, Philippines — Amid the rise in cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children during the Covid-19 pandemic, telecommunications companies and internet service providers (ISPs) were reminded Friday to comply with existing laws against online child sexual exploitation.
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Gregorio Honasan II said that his office is closely coordinating with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to ensure that telcos and ISPs are complying with the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009.
“The DICT takes the matter of online child sexual exploitation very seriously,” Honasan said in a statement.
The DICT said that under the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, all ISPs are mandated to notify the Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation of any form of child pornography committed using its servers or facilities within seven days upon obtaining facts and evidence.
DICT Sec. Gringo Honasan. FILE PHOTO
ISPs, however, are prohibited to monitor users, subscribers or customers, or the content of any communication of any such person.
Further, all ISPs are also required to install available technology, program or software to ensure that access to or transmittal of any form of child pornography will be blocked or filtered.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier submitted a recommendation penalizing telecommunication companies and strengthening government response against the growing trend of child exploitation.
The said recommendation has been approved by President Rodrigo Duterte.
The NTC also recently issued show-cause orders to several ISPs for their non-compliance with the law and required them to provide a written justification why such a breach should not be sanctioned administratively.