According to Globe, it successfully blocked a total of 489,849 child pornography sites in 2023. The figure shows an increase of 22% from the 401,487 websites in 2022.
The count of disabled URLs hosting explicit content experienced a surge of 21.8%, reaching 486,802 in 2023 compared to the 399,550 reported in the previous year. The number of blocked domains witnessed an increase of 56.5%, rising to 3,047 in 2023 from 1,947 during the same period in the preceding year.
“We believe that a safer digital environment for our children requires a multi-pronged approach,” said Anton Bonifacio, chief information security officer of Globe. “Beyond blocking harmful content, we want to foster a culture of vigilance, awareness, and collaboration to protect the most vulnerable members of our society from the pervasive threats that lurk online.”
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In collaboration with the government and various stakeholders, Globe continues to enhance its capabilities to detect and block access to child pornography and other illicit sites.
Anti-child pornography law
Aligned with the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 (Republic Act 9775), Globe’s #MakeITSafePH campaign, initiated in 2017, actively supports efforts to combat online child exploitation. This law mandates internet service providers (ISPs) to deploy technologies preventing access to or transmission of child pornography.
To strengthen its site-blocking capabilities, Globe invested $2.7 million in content filtering systems and collaborates with government agencies as well as local and international organizations to reinforce child protection online.
The Philippines is identified as a leading source of OSAEC (online sexual abuse and exploitation of children content) by the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). This underscores the urgency for sustained efforts to protect children online.