The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has thrown its support behind expanded voluntary website blocking by Globe Telecom, PLDT-Smart, and Converge ICT Solutions, even as questions remain over the legal basis and safeguards governing restrictions on violent content that has not necessarily been declared illegal.
The DICT said Monday, Aug. 24, that it is stepping up monitoring of what it calls “nihilistic violent extremism” (NVE) and other harmful online content, while strengthening coordination with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), Philippine National Police (PNP), internet service providers, telecommunications companies, and digital platforms.
The announcement comes after PLDT and Smart began preemptively blocking more than 100 websites carrying footage of school shootings and other acts of extreme violence, while Globe expanded restrictions on sites hosting gore and real-world violence.
The moves had drawn concerns over whether telecommunications companies should be allowed to determine on their own what content subscribers can access, particularly in the absence of a court order or clear regulatory standards.
The DICT, however, said Globe, PLDT, Smart, and Converge are expanding network-level blocking as part of efforts to protect children and young people from graphic violence, exploitation, school shooting footage, and material that could encourage dangerous behavior.
“These efforts are part of our continuing work to protect Filipinos, especially children and young people, from harmful content and threats such as NVE,” DICT secretary Henry Aguda said.
“We welcome the proactive steps being taken by our telecommunications and internet service providers. This is Digital Bayanihan in action, government and industry working together to keep our digital spaces safe.”
Apart from the more than 100 domains being blocked by PLDT and Smart, Globe has said it is expanding its blocking of websites carrying gore and other depictions of extreme violence.
Globe also reported blocking 438,446 domains and URLs containing child sexual abuse and exploitation materials in 2025.
Converge, meanwhile, said it denied nearly 12 billion attempts to access prohibited and harmful websites and blacklisted more than 72,000 domains and web addresses during the same year.
The DICT said the measures are part of broader child-safeguarding and anti-abuse programs undertaken by telecommunications companies in coordination with government agencies and international child-safety organizations.
Significantly, the agency said telecommunications and Internet service providers observe due process and their respective human rights policies when implementing website blocking and other network safeguards.
The statement comes amid criticism that voluntary network-level blocking could allow private telecommunications companies to restrict access to otherwise lawful content without transparent standards, independent review, or judicial authorization.
Former solicitor general Florin Hilbay earlier questioned PLDT’s unilateral decision to block violent-content websites, saying the company appeared to be exercising powers beyond those granted under its legislative franchise.
“PLDT’s decision to ‘not tolerate’ what it considers ‘harmful content online’ is an assumption of legislative discretion (that it doesn’t have) and a rather overconfident assertion that executives know better and can make decisions of this nature for all,” Hilbay said.
“Banning ‘content that glorifies violence’ isn’t something even supreme courts in the US and Philippines have been confident enough to do. What makes PLDT wiser than these fallible institutions?” he added.
Cyber activist Tonyo Cruz similarly argued that unilateral website blocking could bypass due-process protections.
“The unilateral blocking of sites or accounts preempts and violates due process, which safeguards our rights against overreach and abuse by government and big corporations such as PLDT-Smart,” Cruz said.
Neither the DICT statement nor the telcos’ announcements have detailed a common industry standard for determining when violent but otherwise lawful material crosses the threshold for network-level blocking, or what mechanism subscribers have to challenge an erroneous or overbroad restriction.
“Keeping the Internet safe is a shared responsibility. We encourage all our partners in government and industry to remain vigilant, act responsibly, and work with us to prevent harmful content from being used to promote violence, exploitation, or other dangerous activities,” Aguda said.
The government-industry initiative effectively broadens the blocking effort beyond PLDT-Smart and Globe, with Converge now included in the coordinated response, while leaving unresolved the broader question of how child-safety measures can be implemented without giving network operators unchecked discretion over what Filipinos can access online.
