PLDT blocks almost 30,000 child abuse sites, links

MANILA, Philippines—Telco giant PLDT Inc.’s fight against online child abuse gained ground after the company blocked almost 30,000 links and sites hosting explicit content involving minors as of June 2021.

PLDT, with subsidiary Smart, said the ongoing campaign ramped up following its membership in the United Kingdom-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).

IWF is a non-profit organization that works closely with national government law enforcers, internet service providers, and charitable organizations in taking down webpages, keywords, hash lists, and digital fingerprints that contain child abuse materials.

IWF’s members included tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Telefonica, and Vodafone.

“Now, that we have fully integrated IWF’s database into our child protection platform, we can act swiftly to cut access to online child abuse materials,” said Angel Redoble, chief information security officer at PLDT and Smart, in a statement on Friday (July 9).

Partnering with IWF was in line with Republic Act 9775 or the Philippine Anti-Child Pornography Act.

Through the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunication Operators, the companies are also lobbying for Congress to amend and strengthen RA 9775.

TSB