PNP partners with TikTok vs online scams, exploitation

REUTERS File Photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) has partnered with Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok a month before a federal ban on the popular platform takes effect in the United States on Jan. 19.

The PNP did not specify the terms of the “partnership,” but the ACG public information officer, Lt. Wallen Mae Arancillo, told reporters on Thursday that it was focused on online scams and the exploitation of children.

“If someone complains of an online scam using TikTok, there is no need for a letter. There will be a focal person that the PNP-ACG can coordinate with to speed up the process,” Arancillo said.

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“TikTok also committed to training ACG personnel for them to better understand [its] processes so they can investigate faster,” Arancillo added after PNP officials met with TikTok representatives in Camp Crame on Dec. 18.

“We aim for our law enforcement partners to have a clear understanding of our operating procedures and legal requirements and proactively engage with us to raise issues, concerns, or emerging threats that could impact user or community safety on our platform,” said Elisabeth Potuijt, TikTok Southeast Asia Law Enforcement Outreach manager.

Potuijt did not specify the “operating procedures and legal requirements” she mentioned, but the US Congress passed in April a ban on Tiktok, owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance, because of concerns over national security.

The ban, which is part of a foreign aid package law, forced TikTok to find a new owner within months or be banned from the United States entirely. However, the matter remains pending before the US Supreme Court.

In its partnership with the PNP, Arancillo said TikTok officials cited scams on its shopping feature.

“TikTok first monitored this when they launched their online selling feature. They saw, as other platforms did, that TikTok was being used for online scams by cybercriminals,” Arancillo said.

TikTok reported in its TikTok Shop Safety Report last October that, from January to June this year, it removed 124,000 prohibited products after listing and 100 million listings from 2.2 million shops closed due to shop-level violations.

The report, however, did not provide statistics specific to the Philippines.