Arthur Fuentes

Article (news)

Smartphone apps

Jekki Pascual

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Department of Information and Communications Technology has warned online platforms they will be blocked in the Philippines if they do not remove illegal content. These posts include fake news, online scams, fake products, illegal gambling, child pornography, and other similar content.DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said they have received complaints from the public about products being sold on e-commerce platforms that are counterfeit or have no permits from agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He added they have also raised some online posts to social media companies, but have not been removed, or have taken a long time to remove.He urges social media companies and online shopping platforms to act more quickly. He hopes that the online platforms themselves push for self-regulation so that the platforms can immediately remove posts that contain fake news, sell fake items or offer potential scams.“Hindi po kami against sa social media platforms o kaya sa online selling. Pero dapat bawasan natin ang ill effects,” said Aguda.Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center Acting Executive Director Usec. Renato Paraiso added that they will continue to monitor the platforms and they may be banned or blocked if there are continuing violations.“Those who will not comply, we would be compelled na to exercise kung ano available remedies sa amin and one of them is to block mga sites na ito,” Paraiso said.Aguda asserted that they are far from blocking social media sites for now because he said there are still more legitimate online sellers and social media posts, but they hope it will not reach a point where the social harm will be bigger than the social good effects of the platforms.“Pag shinutdown namin kayo, maraming mas nag nenegosyo ng maayos sa social media platforms… Yung mga nag nenegosyo at gumagamit nito ng tama maprotektahan at yung mga nanamantala doon sa social media platform maalis po natin,” he added.Aguda also urged online platforms to open offices in the Philippines since most of them do not have a satellite office in the country. He said some only have support offices, but the policy and operations units are usually based in Singapore or even the US.He added that this makes it difficult to remove posts in the current setup because the complaints are being passed to the regional office, then to the headquarters. Also, he said Filipino content checkers are needed because they understand the language and the culture in the country.“We encourage the social media platforms to set up shop in the Philippines. Dito sila maglagay ng content moderators nila na PInoy rin,” Aguda said.Several online platforms agreed to cooperate with the DICT. Representatives from TikTok, Shopee, and Google met with Aguda and Paraiso, while other platforms like Meta and Kumu sent statements of support.

Online platforms will be blocked in the Philippines if they do not remove illegal content such as fake news, scams, fake products, illegal gambling, child pornography, and similar content, the DICT warned.

Online platforms will be blocked in the Philippines if they do not remove illegal content such as fake news, scams, fake products, illegal gambling, child pornography, and similar content, the DICT warned.

DICT warns online platforms: Remove illegal content or be blocked

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DICT warns online platforms: Remove illegal content or be blocked

Jekki Pascual,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 08, 2025 05:00 PM PHT

Read More:

DICT

Department of Information and Communications Technology

fake products

online shopping

online scams

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