2 PH telcos double efforts to fight online child porn, abuse

MANILA, Philippines—Internet services providers are doubling down on efforts to combat the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

Telecommunications giant Globe Telecom and Converge ICT Solutions Inc., a major fiber internet player, 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 during the COVID-19 lockdown, 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 online child abuse cases.

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

Converge, too, 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,” said Converge founder and CEO Dennis Anthony Uy in the statement.

“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,” he said.

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

TSB