Together with his Cabinet, President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing for sanctions against internet service providers that were not able to put a stop on online child pornography amid the growing reports that nearly doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transaction reports related to online sexual exploitation rose from 19,000 in 2019 to 47,937 in 2020, while the country was under strict quarantine measures due to COVID0-19. The median age of those involved in these transactions is 11, said Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.
Duterte’s Cabinet ordered the National Telecommunications Commission to impose sanctions on internet service providers “for failure to fulfill their duty” under Republic Act 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, he said.
These duties include immediately notifying lawmakers within a week upon knowing that their services were being used for child pornography, providing authorities with details on users involved in the scheme, and intercepting or immediately blocking access to the materials, Nograles told reporters in an online briefing.
“Hindi hahayaan ng gobyerno na madagdagan pa ang biktima ng sexual exploitation sa gitna ng kinakaharap nating pandemya,” he said.
