Philippines : House panel approves bill to strengthen child online protection
A House panel in the Philippines has approved an amendment substitute bill that aims to strengthen protecting children online.
The bill lists the harms children face online, including child sexual exploitation and abuse materials, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, online child trafficking; online impersonation, online grooming, online publication of child terrorist, violent extremism,etc. It also has provisions of penalties for violations. It treats Online sexual abuse and exploitation against children (OSAEC) as “transnational crime that allows the extradition of predators and perpetrators committing the crime outside the Philippine jurisdiction, among others.”
According to the House Committee on the Welfare of Children, the amendment substitute bill will allot funds for the proposals and counter proposals which have been included in the bill. These include proposals by several Government agencies and organizations,such as the Department of Justice, National Privacy Commission, End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism Ph, and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).
The bill, once enacted into law, will propose the transfer of power from the Inter-Agency Council on Anti-Child Pornography (IACACP) under Republic Act 9775 into the newly-created Inter-Agency Council on Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation (IACACSAE).
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