PLDT is asking the government to give telecommunications providers authority to block sites promoting violence or nihilistic violent extremism without first securing regulatory approval, The Philippine Star reported Thursday.
PLDT chief operating officer and chief technology officer Menardo “Butch” Jimenez Jr. said the company has identified channels promoting violent material but cannot yet block them without clearance.
He said he would prefer “some level of empowerment” through legislation or guidelines from the appropriate government agency.
Globe, PLDT, Smart, and Converge were already expanding voluntary network-level blocking of harmful content by August.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said the effort covered sites carrying graphic violence, school-shooting footage, child sexual abuse and exploitation material, scams, and other prohibited content.
Converge CEO Dennis Anthony Uy said at the time that the company follows due process before blocking access to a site and coordinates with regulators and international organizations.
Globe separately said it had blocked hundreds of sites associated with gore and extreme violence. It called for a broader industry response and said it was working with government agencies and child-safety organizations.
PLDT cited Republic Act No. 11930, the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials Act, as an example of a clearer statutory framework.
The law requires internet service providers to block identified child sexual abuse or exploitation material within 24 hours after receiving sufficient notice and to maintain systems for preventing, detecting, blocking, and reporting such material.
The law also protects people from civil, criminal, or administrative liability for good-faith blocking or removal actions involving child sexual abuse material when its statutory conditions are met.
The Philippine Chamber of Telecom Operators (PCTO), whose members included PLDT and Globe, raised concerns about private blocking authority in 2020 during a dispute over child sexual abuse material.
The group said blocking unlawful content was a state duty supported by internet service providers and warned that delegating censorship to private companies could raise constitutional and statutory issues.
That position predates RA 11930 and dealt specifically with child sexual abuse material rather than violent-extremist content.
Globe has pushed for stronger site-blocking powers in another area. Its anti-piracy proposal would allow the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines to order telcos to block infringing sites, leaving the decision with a government authority rather than the provider itself.
PLDT’s proposal would give telcos more discretion over violent content by allowing them to act without first waiting for a regulator once they determine that a site meets the relevant criteria.