MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Cybercrime Investigation Coordinating Center (CICC) signed an agreement and will use new tools to fight fake news and deepfakes.
The Philippine News Agency says the CICC and the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA).
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Under the agreement, the agencies agree to recognize the Inter-Agency Response Center (I-ARC) Hotline 1326 as the national anti-scam hotline.
Also, the PCO and the CICC promote the eGovPH app’s e-Report function for scam reporting.
In a press briefing, PCO Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said there will be a collaboration for anti-scam and deepfake education campaigns.
“Sa ganitong paraan ay matutulungan ang mga Pilipino na maiwasan ma-scam at malabanan ang paglipana ng fake news,” she said.
(This way, Filipinos can be helped to avoid scams and combat the spread of fake news.)
CICC Executive Director Undersecretary Alexander Ramos said the PCO will lead the National Deepfake Task Force to intensify the government’s fight against misinformation and disinformation.
On the other hand, the CICC will use an AI application that will detect deepfakes. The agency received roughly 200 deepfake case reports in the last few weeks.
Ramos said around ₱2 million would be allotted for this “regionalized” software from a foreign developer.
“Ito ho ay isang tool na within 30 seconds puwede ninyo na ma-identify ang deepfake content,” he stated.
(Within 30 seconds, this tool can identify a deepfake content.)
Ramos said the accreditation process for this anti-deepfake tool is ongoing. Also, there will be training on how to use the tool.
“We would also want to have the support of the civil society initiatives by empowering civil society organizations working on media literacy, fact-checking, and combating disinformation,” he added.
