Globe blocks 278,555 child porn hosts

Ayala-backed Globe Telecom Inc. on Monday reported that it has blocked about 278,555 URLs and domains hosting child pornography from January to September to create a safer online space.

Globe said the figure, which only covered the past three quarters, represented a 1,132.5 percent leap from the 2021 full-year total of 22,371.

Globe chief privacy officer Irish Salandanan-Almeida said the company actively supports the government's efforts to restrict access to illegal sites to keep the public safe online.

Under Republic Act 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, all Internet service providers are mandated to install technology, programs, or software to ensure that access to or transmittal of child pornography will be blocked or filtered.

"We are relentless in boosting our capabilities to detect and block child pornography pages and other online content that are harmful to our customers," Globe chief information and security officer Anton Bonifacio said.

"The astounding number of links we are able to block shows our vigilance and security efforts," he added.

A study by the United States-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tagged the Philippines as among the world's leading sources of content rooted in OSAEC.

Globe earlier invested $2.7 million in content filtering systems that block websites and imagery that promote child pornography, illegal gambling, and online piracy.