THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said internet service providers (ISPs) have committed to act promptly in disabling sites that are subject to blocking orders.
“ISPs and anti-piracy partners commended the new site blocking rules released by IPOPHL last month, vowing to do their part in immediately disabling access upon order from IPOPHL and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to help the creative economy flourish more fully,” IPOPHL said in a statement on Wednesday.
On Sept. 20, IPOPHL signed the rules governing site blocking contained in Memorandum Circular 23-025, which takes effect two months from publication.
Globe Telecom, Inc. Senior Vice-President for Corporate Communications Maria Yolanda C. Crisanto said the new rules align with its anti-piracy campaign, which has been running since 2017.
“We are no longer tied down. We can do something about piracy,” Ms. Crisanto said.
However, she added that the company is still hoping for site blocking legislation “for stronger and wider-scale implementation.”
PLDT Inc. Deputy Chief Information Security Officer Ellen Solosod said the blocking orders will help minimize cases of users “falling prey to illegal websites or pirate websites.”
“We vow we will work closely with IPOPHL and National Telecommunications Commission to put a stop to piracy,” Ms. Solosod said.
DITO Telecommunity Corp. Intellectual Property Manager Enriquito L. Cruz said: “The collaborative effort to block pirated sites protects the substantial revenue (generated by) the creative sector, which totaled P1.60 trillion or 7.3% of 2022 gross domestic product.”
He added that allowing wide-scale piracy will be equivalent to “economic sabotage” by damaging the creative industry.
SkyCable Head of Core Network and Engineering Solito G. Mapolon called providing access to legitimate content “a critical responsibility of ISPs.”
The four companies signed a memorandum of understanding with IPOPHL a week ago, committing to block sites upon request after a finding issued by the regulators.
“This approach streamlines the current process which requires the involvement of the NTC, the agency being the primary regulator of ISPs,” IPOPHL said.
Citing a recent report by the Asia Video Industry Association, IPOPHL said visits originating in the Philippines landed on pirate streaming sites that were 21.66 times more likely to be infected with malware compared to mainstream sites, with 10% of such visits resulting in malware infection.
“When visiting pirate torrent sites, Filipino consumers are 16.66 times more likely to be infected with malware, with an infection rate of 18%,” it added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
