Globe, Converge battle crooks preying on children online

Internet services providers are doubling down on efforts to combat the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC).

Telecommunications giant Globe Telecom and major fiber internet player Converge ICT Solutions Inc. announced steps being taken to crack down on illegal sites.

This also comes as the Philippines emerged as a global hotspot for online child sexual exploitation amid the lockdowns imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study released by the Washington-based International Justice Mission.

“As a company whose business is connecting many Filipinos to the internet, Globe sees paramount importance in keeping its customers, particularly children, safe online,” Yoly Crisanto, chief sustainability officer and senior vice president for corporate communications at Globe, said in a statement.

Through a partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund and its SaferKidsPH initiative, Globe supports the government in observing Safer Internet Day by raising awareness on pressing and emerging OSAEC cases.

The company has also actively implemented programs on OSAEC reporting and education.

Similarly, Converge has implemented firewall systems that screens data and verifies “if it is safe to pass through to the business.”

“This technology prevents unauthorized access to or from a private network, preventing the circulation of explicit or malicious content,” the company said in a separate statement.

Converge uses a Secure Domain Name Solution that blocks at the domain level those websites carrying child pornography material. The tools used by Converge for Firewall and DNS Solution are from the most reputed companies in the industry.

“People stuck at home during the pandemic continue to seek human connection through the online community. In light of Safer Internet Day, we would like to remind parents and guardians of children to take proactive steps in using the internet responsibly,” Converge founder and CEO Dennis Anthony H. Uy said in the statement.

“Converge will continue to implement safety and security measures such that explicit and malicious content will not continue to propagate online,” he added. —Miguel R. Camus