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SCMP’s Asia desk

The Philippines has rejected a proposal to ban TikTok, saying regulating the popular short video app and other social media platforms was key to address possible espionage concerns.
Lawmaker Bienvenido Abante filed a bill last week in the House of Representatives to prohibit “foreign adversary controlled” applications, naming TikTok as an example.
Abante claimed TikTok “can easily transmit data harvested from its users to the Chinese government”.
He said the proposed measure was aimed at preventing “foreign adversary countries infiltrating our communication infrastructure and making a mockery of our cybersecurity and intelligence”.
But the Department of Information and Communications Technology said it was in favour of monitoring and regulating online shopping sites and messaging apps.
“We are in support of regulation of OTTs [over-the-top messaging] and social media platforms specially in their following of our rules on privacy, our rules on cybersecurity, our rules on computer security,” Jeffrey Ian Dy, the agency’s undersecretary, said on Monday.

TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has come under increasing scrutiny over security concerns.
Several countries including Britain, Canada, Australia and France have banned the app on government-issued phones.
US President Joe Biden last month signed into law a bill requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s American operations in 270 days or face a ban on the app.
Dy, however, said outlawing an app would be a last option in extreme cases and applicable to all platforms, not just TikTok.
“Of course if you regulate them and they do not follow you, then the next step or the maximum step is to ban,” he said.

He also underscored the need for regulation of social media and messaging apps to rein in scams and misinformation.
In 2022, the Philippines implemented a SIM card registration law to curb text-based spam and phishing messages, but the rule apparently failed to yield the desired results as dozens of phone cards were seized during a raid on an online gaming company in March.
“Somebody has to act as a controller. Acting on behalf of the welfare of the public. That could be government through regulation,” Dy said.
He added that Facebook and messaging platform Telegram would be closely monitored after they were used to allegedly sell children and sensitive data hacked from government websites, ABS-CBN reported.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s personal website, the coastguard’s social media pages and the Philippine national police’s firearms logistics data system have all reportedly been breached in recent months, prompting the government to roll out a six-year plan to enhance cybersecurity.
Dy said streamlining digital defence was a priority and more than 200 government agencies would be linked to the national cybersecurity operations centre to effectively combat threats.


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The Philippines

While US threatens to ban TikTok, Philippines says regulation is key

The TikTok app is seen on a phone. Philippine regulators say outlawing the app would be a last resort. Photo: AFP

People walk past a ByteDance office in Beijing earlier this month. TikTok, owned by Beijing-based  ByteDance , has come under increasing scrutiny over security concerns. Photo: EPA-EFE

Filipino teens use a smartphone at a convenience store. Philippine regulators have pledged to monitor social media and messaging apps to rein in scams, misinformation, data leaks and misuse. Photo: Shutterstock

South China Sea: Beijing risks conflict with Philippines over ‘Monster’ ship to enforce  anti-trespassing policy

Philippine coastguard personnel on a rubber boat at a ceremony at a seaport in Manila. Photo: EPA-EFE

A Chinese coastguard fleet conducting formation training in waters adjacent to Scarborough Shoal, or Huangyan Island as referred to by Beijing, in the South China Sea. Photo: EPA-EFE

Chinese coastguard vessels fire water cannons at a Philippine resupply vessel on its way to the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. Photo: Reuters

Filipino fishermen receiving goods from volunteers on the waters of the South China Sea. Photo: EPA-EFE

Philippines sounds alarm over ‘worrisome’ rise in sale of children ads online amid exploitation fears

The Philippines’ Department of Social Welfare and Development says it has found a number of Facebook pages filled with advertisements of children for sale in the country. Photo: Shutterstock

Philippine child rights advocate Amihan Abueva, regional executive director of Child Rights Coalition Asia and the co-founder of anti-child trafficking organisation ECPAT. Photo: Handout

Nearly 500,000 Filipino children were trafficked into sexual exploitation for profit in 2022, according to the International Justice Mission. Photo: Shutterstock

A lack of education and dysfunctional family dynamics are among the factors driving parents to have their children adopted by selling them, says child rights advocate Amihan Abueva. Photo: Shutterstock

Philippines’ Marcos Jnr removes pro-Duterte police officers … to pre-empt a coup attempt?

Philippine Police Colonel Richard Bad-ang, one of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s most trusted police officers, has been removed from post as Davao City police chief. Photo: Handout

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (left) with then-Philippine National Police director general Ronald Dela Rosa in January 2017. Photo: AFP

Men place their hands over their heads as they are rounded up by police in Manila during the anti-drugs crackdown of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016. Photo: AP

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and Vice-President Sara Duterte during an event in Manila in January. Photo: Kyodo

Ousted Philippine President Joseph Estrada walks past reporters after his perjury trial at the anti-corruption court in suburban Quezon City in October 2001. Photo: AP

South China Sea: Philippine admiral at centre of ‘new deal’ saga breaks silence on alleged pact with Beijing

Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner Jnr (right) and Vice-Admiral Alberto Carlos (left) share a meal with Filipino marines and navy personnel stationed aboard the long-marooned BRP Sierra Madre at the Second Thomas Shoal in December 2023. Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines PAO via AP

Vice-Admiral Alberto Carlos, previously commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Command. Photo: Photo: Philippine Navy

The Philippine ship BRP Sierra Madre grounded on Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea in March 2023. Photo: AFP

A China Coast Guard vessel blocks a Philippine resupply vessel on its way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on March 5. Photo: Reuters

This Week in Asia

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Asia

Southeast Asia

A Philippine lawmaker’s proposal to ban ‘foreign adversary controlled’ apps like TikTok has fallen flat
So long as apps follow rules on privacy and cybersecurity, regulators say the ‘maximum step’ of a ban won’t be needed


A Philippine lawmaker’s proposal to ban ‘foreign adversary controlled’ apps like TikTok has fallen flat, with regulators calling a ban the ‘maximum step’.


TikTok

TikTok ban

China-Philippines relations

Social media

While US threatens to ban TikTok, Philippines says regulation is key

A Philippine lawmaker’s proposal to ban ‘foreign adversary controlled’ apps like TikTok has fallen flat So long as apps follow rules on privacy and cybersecurity, regulators say the ‘maximum step’ of a ban won’t be needed

A Philippine lawmaker’s proposal to ban ‘foreign adversary controlled’ apps like TikTok has fallen flat

So long as apps follow rules on privacy and cybersecurity, regulators say the ‘maximum step’ of a ban won’t be needed