PLDT has blocked almost 30,000 sites that host explicit content involving minors to date

Telco giant PLDT Inc. has blocked almost 30,000 links and sites hosting explicit content involving minors as of June 2021.

PLDT said its ongoing campaign against child abuse ramped up following its membership in the United Kingdom-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).

IWF is a non-profit organization that works closely with national government law enforcers, internet service providers, and charitable organizations in taking down webpages, keywords, hash lists, and digital fingerprints that contain material related to child abuse.

Other IWF members include tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Telefonica, and Vodafone.

“Now, that we have fully integrated IWF’s database into our child protection platform, we can act swiftly to cut access to online child abuse materials,” said Angel Redoble, chief information security officer at PLDT and Smart.

PLDT’s partnership with IWF is in line with Republic Act 9775 or the Philippine Anti-Child Pornography Act.

Through the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunication Operators, the companies are also lobbying for Congress to amend and strengthen RA 9775.

SOURCE: Inquirer