Over 900,00 websites showing online child abuse blocked in 2023 — CWC

MANILA, Philippines — In 2023, over 900,00 websites that featured online child abuse were blocked by a local telecommunications company, according to Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) Executive Director Angelo Tapeles on Thursday.

On the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing, Tapeles also said that there were at least 17,000 reported cases of child abuse in 2023.

“Batay po sa datos ng mga telecom companies natin, may isang telecom company po na nagsabi po sa amin na noong 2023 lang, mayroon silang na-block na mga bastos na site o may mga OSAEC/CSAEM (Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children/ Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Material) na site ano – 902,000 sites po ang pinag-uusapan natin,” said Tapeles.

(Based on the data of our telecom companies, there is one telecom company that said in 2023 alone, they blocked obscene websites that had OSAEC/CSAEM in these sites — we are talking about 902,000 sites.)

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Tapeles also said there were 2.16 million blocked attempts to access these websites.

The CWC director explained that for cases of online sexual abuse, the perpetrator is usually the parents or the relative.

“There is a wrong mentality that children should contribute to the income of the family, that’s why they think it’s okay to take a picture or video to sell,” said Tapeles in a mix of English and Filipino.

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