The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) warned Wednesday that it may ban Telegram in the Philippines if the messaging platform fails to curb reports of illegal gambling and the online sexual abuse of children.
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda disclosed that while regulators have reached out to Telegram’s management, the government’s stance on child protection remains uncompromising.
“If we continue to find violations, then we might ban them as a consequence,” Aguda said. “Preventing online sexual exploitation of children is non-negotiable. If I see even one more, people can get angry at me if they want, but I will block them.”
The scrutiny follows previous enforcement actions by the DICT’s Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center as the agency recently blocked the AI chatbot Grok over the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes, though the restriction was lifted following negotiations with xAI, the developer led by Elon Musk.
Telegram, founded in 2013 by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov, has faced global criticism over its minimal content moderation.
Durov was arrested in France in 2024 in connection with alleged criminal activities on the app, including financial fraud and child pornography.
The potential ban has drawn concern from local tech leaders. Ann Cuisia, CEO of TraxionTech, warned that targeting an entire platform could harm millions of legitimate users and small businesses.
“Bad actors do not disappear when an app is blocked. They move. They adapt,” Cuisia said. “What stays behind are disrupted small businesses, broken community groups, and growing uncertainty in our digital space.”
Despite these concerns, Aguda stressed that the DICT will continue to monitor the platform closely for any persistence of illegal activities.