Encompassing not just violent and graphic content, but also falsehoods.
During the Palace press briefing on Tuesday, August 25, Malacañang confirmed that its is open to the idea of imposing tougher restrictions on digital platforms that may be deemed as posing risks to the public.
Asked about whether the executive branch is willing to consider broader restrictions against digital platforms, should these were found to be harmful to the public.
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) previously noted that it is considering proposals to ban platforms such as Facebook following the recent incidents of deadly school-related violence allegedly linked to social media activity.
Castro told that the government must thoroughly study the possible effects and accountability of social media platforms, but the Palace is open to such a move, if needed.
“Kung kinakailangan po… At ito ang napag-aralan dahil hindi lamang marahas ang nakikita natin sa ibang klase ng social platform at sa social media. Kailangan din pong pag-aralan kung ito ba ay nakakabuti sa paglaganap ng mga fake news sa ating bansa,” she said.
She also noted that the possibility of a ban also encompasses other platforms anf applications that might be deemed harmful to the public.
“Sa lahat. Maaaring gaming app, lahat ng pwedeng masasabing makakasira sa ating kabataan at sa bansa natin, open po tayo na matanggal ng lahat ng iyan,” she said.
Castro also noted that the government could consider stronger measures if social media companies continue to “disregard” takedown requests issued by the government against content viewed as harmful.
“Kung hindi magkakaroon ng accountability ang anumang social media platform at parang nababalewala ang ating mga hiling para maproteksyunan ang ating mga kababayan laban sa karahasan, laban sa fake news, mabagal ang pagtugon, magandang pag-isipan at pag-aralan kung dapat silang manatili na parte ng ating sistema,” the Palace official also said.
However, Castro emphasized that the Palace’s position against fake news should not be interpreted as an attempt to suppress legitimate criticism or freedom of expression.
“Iba naman po kasi iyong fake news. Iba naman iyong ikaw ay naglalahad lamang ng iyong opinion, kritiko ka, hindi po yan pinagbabawalan,” she explained, adding that the deliberate spread of false information could have serious consequences for the country, particularly for young Filipinos.
Castro stressed, “Ang hindi lamang po natin matatanggap, lalong-lalo na ang hindi matatanggap ng Pangulo ay ang paglaganap ng fake news.”
But for now, the Palace is standing by its own position that a careful and evidence-based review is needed before any platform is banned—emphasizing this could have far-reaching implications for communication, business, education, journalism and the public’s access to information.
In additoon, there will also be the need for thebgovernment to distinguish between harmful or deliberately false content and legitimate opinions, criticism and political discourse.
Any restrictions, they said, would also need to be consistent with constitutional protections on freedom of speech and expression.
DICT’S EFFORTS
Meanwhile, for its part, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) shared that it is intensifying its efforts against Nihilistic Violent Extremism (NVE) and other harmful online content.
Coordinating with stakeholders such as the CICC, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Philippine National Police (PNP), internet service providers, telecommunications companies, and digital platforms, the government aims to improve threat monitoring, information-sharing, and network-level safeguards.
“These efforts are part of our continuing work to protect Filipinos, especially children and young people, from harmful content and threats such as NVE,” said DICT Secretary Henry Aguda.
Telecommunications companies have already responded to the call and imposed voluntary network-level blocking of websites carrying graphic violence, school shooting footage, child sexual abuse and exploitation materials, scams, and other prohibited content.
PLDT and Smart have begun preemptively blocking more than 100 domains linked to extreme violence, while Globe is expanding its blocking of websites carrying gore and real-world violence.
Moreover, Globe also blocked 438,446 domains related to child sexual abuse and exploitation materials in 2025.
For its part Converge reported blocking nearly 12 billion access attempts to harmful websites and blacklisting more than 72,000 domains in the same year.
“We welcome the proactive steps being taken by our telecommunications and internet service providers. This is Digital Bayanihan in action, government and industry working together to keep our digital spaces safe,” added Aguda.
These measures are part of the broader network-level child safeguarding and anti-abuse initiatives carried out with Philippine government agencies and international child-safety organizations through Child Online Safeguarding Policies (COSP)—with the goal of reducing children’s exposure to cyber threats, online exploitation, violence, and other harmful content.
Providers also observe due process and their respective Human Rights Policies in implementing website blocking and other network safeguards, the DICT noted.
“Keeping the internet safe is a shared responsibility. We encourage all our partners in government and industry to remain vigilant, act responsibly, and work with us to prevent harmful content from being used to promote violence, exploitation, or other dangerous activities,” Aguda added.
