Meta Commits To Faster Takedowns, Data Sharing On Child Abuse Cases In Philippines
MANILA, Aug 28 (NNN-PNA) -- Meta has committed to a more proactive approach to removing harmful artificial intelligence (AI)-generated deepfakes and responding to lawful requests from Philippine authorities investigating cybercrime and other online threats, the Philippines News Agency (PNA) reported.
In a statement on Friday, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Centre (CICC) Executive Director Undersecretary Renato "Aboy" Paraiso said the commitment opens the door for the government and digital platforms to begin integrating measures contained in the proposed expanded online safety legislation ahead of its passage.
"We are encouraged about this high level of cooperation we are seeing. We expect that these developments will translate into faster coordination, more effective investigations, and more importantly, better protection for Filipinos, especially children and other vulnerable Internet users," Paraiso said.
The commitment came after a Philippine government delegation led by Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda flew to Singapore on Thursday to meet with regional executives of Meta and Roblox amid growing concerns over online safety, particularly the exposure of minors to abusive, deceptive, and potentially dangerous content.
Meta's team is expected to visit Manila by mid-September to continue discussions and work with the government on implementing the measures agreed upon during the meeting.
One of the critical results from the talks is a stronger mechanism for addressing AI-generated content, particularly deepfakes used to target individuals, with Meta agreeing to work with the DICT, CICC, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and other law enforcement agencies on recommendations for identifying AI-generated content that should be subject to immediate removal.
"This is an important step forward because it gives us a more pre-emptive layer of protection. We look forward to working with Meta so that individuals who are targeted by deepfakes can receive assistance before the content causes further damage," Paraiso explained.
Under the proposed mechanism, individuals may be enrolled for protection, allowing Meta to identify and remove deepfake content targeting them.
Meta also agreed to readily provide the credentials and relevant data of users behind online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC), child sexual abuse and exploitation material (CSAEM), obscene content, and other forms of online abuse.
Once the NBI issues a subpoena, Meta will immediately provide the requested data, subject to applicable laws and legal requirements.
Paraiso noted that the arrangement reflects Meta's willingness to act ahead of legislation still being studied.
"It shows that there's an opportunity for government and platforms to work together now and not wait for the law before putting stronger safeguards in place," he added.
The government had earlier raised the possibility of temporarily banning Meta in the Philippines if the platform failed to put in place stricter safeguards to protect children, but is holding off on the plan for now following the commitment.
"For now, banning is the last option. We now have concrete areas of cooperation, and we are looking forward to seeing these turn into actual improvements in online safety for Filipinos, especially for our children," Paraiso stressed.
-- NNN-BERNAMA-PNA
