PLDT, Smart join ASEAN ICT Forum on Child Online Protection, panel
‘Telcos were hamstrung as to what we can do to comply, as there were conflicting and unconstitutional provisions in the old law.’
Daily Tribune‘Telcos were hamstrung as to what we can do to comply, as there were conflicting and unconstitutional provisions in the old law.’
The Philippines' leading integrated telecommunications network PLDT Inc. and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. participated as private sector representatives and highlighted the importance of harmonizing policies with technology in a panel session in the recent ASEAN ICT Forum on Child Online Protection held in Bangkok,Thailand.
Co-organized by Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, and supported by UNICEF's East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, the forum was aimed at strengthening regional cooperation on various aspects of child online protection, including the fight against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children and child sexual abuse and exploitation materials.
The forum had more than 220 participants from various ASEAN countries and sectors, including representatives from the youth, government agencies, multi-lateral organizations, private sector, civil society organizations, and the academe.
There were also delegates from China, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, South Korean, Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands and France.
PLDT and Smart joined representatives from the Philippine Department of Justice and Malaysia's Attorney General's Chambers on a panel session about legislative reforms on child online protection.
Given the recent enactment of Republic Act 11930 or the Anti-OSAEC and Anti-CSAEM Act and the release of its implementing rules and regulations, Philippine representatives were asked to present learnings on the legislative reform process.
Industry challenges under the old law
PLDT and Smart shared earlier industry challenges under the old law, the RA 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Law of 2009, and talked about Philippine telco contributions to its amending legislation, RA 11930.
Under the old law, telcos, or Internet Service Providers, had the sole responsibility of blocking and filtering sites with online child abuse.
Local ISPs then raised concerns in implementation as compliance equated to violations of the Philippine constitution and data privacy laws.
"Telcos were hamstrung as to what we can do to comply, as there were conflicting and unconstitutional provisions in the old law. And because it was a 2009 law, there were also no considerations on the roles of online payment channels and social media networks. Insofar as the public was concerned at that time, telcos were the bad guys and were not doing enough," explained PLDT and Smart's first vice president and chief sustainability officer Melissa Vergel de Dios.