Local telcos Globe Telecom and Smart Communications said they will comply with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)’s directive to block or deactivate URLs in text messages.
Sen. Grace Poe highlighted the need to also dig deeper on how the telcos guarantee that their respective database is shielded from breaches and leakages.
Sen. Grace Poe expressed disappointment over the National Telecommunications Commission's (NTC) seeming slack in taking action against the proliferation of text scams victimizing millions of mobile phone users.
ABS-CBN and TV5 have earlier announced that it was putting the deal on hold to address the issues raised by lawmakers and the NTC on the proposed investment by ABS-CBN for a minority interest in TV5.
ARTA’s revocation of its ruling came after the Office of the Ombudsman suspended ARTA director general Jeremiah Belgica and other top officials for six months after a complaint was filed against them by DITO Telecommunity.
The Philippines is set to be the first country in Southeast Asia to avail the services of Starlink broadband service which provides a low-Earth orbit satellite system designed to deliver broadband Internet connectivity with speeds between 100 to 200 Megabits per second (Mbps).
The NTC said it is still currently investigating the matter in coordination with Globe Telecom, but agrees with the latter that it may be a classic case of “SMS spoofing”.
The government has also formed an inter-agency group to receive complaints from cellular phone subscribers and will be tasked with forwarding the numbers used by scammers to telcos for blocking.
The NPC, for its part, said it is looking at the SMS spam reports but the agency clarified that there is no sufficient information, at this time, to attribute or link the growing concerns on unsolicited SMS to breach of contact tracing forms or apps.
