DICT to nudge big tech accountability at ASEAN level

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Thursday that the Philippine government will push for big tech companies’ accountability at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) level.

In a statement, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said bringing the issue to ASEAN builds on the agency’s recent engagements with Meta and Roblox in Singapore.

The DICT chief said the Singapore engagements demonstrate what strong government-platform cooperation can accomplish and could serve as a foundation for wider regional action.

“We now have an opportunity to build on that momentum through ASEAN and develop clearer regional mechanisms for accountability, faster response and stronger protection of our citizens,” Aguda said.

Meta earlier committed to strengthen coordination with Philippine authorities in addressing harmful content, online threats, child sexual abuse and exploitation material, artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes and cybercrime-related requests.

Roblox had also agreed to strengthen safeguards for younger users and work more closely with Philippine authorities on age verification, parental controls and other child safety measures.

The DICT chief also cited the call from Scam Watch Pilipinas for stronger regional action against harmful content, online scams, and other digital threats.

“Scam Watch Pilipinas raises an important point. The Philippines cannot deal with these challenges alone, and neither can any ASEAN member state. What we achieved in Singapore shows that engagement can produce results, but ASEAN acting together can achieve much more,” Aguda said.

Scam Watch Pilipinas earlier called for an ASEAN front that would give member states greater collective leverage in dealing with global technology platforms, particularly on harmful content, scams, fraudulent advertisements, misinformation and other digital threats.

Aguda said he intends to raise the issue at the Ministerial Roundtable Meeting on “AI: A Boon or Bane for Information and Media Cooperation” on October 9 to 10 in Metro Manila.

A second opportunity will follow at the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting on Harnessing New Media for a Stronger ASEAN Narrative on October 15 to 17, where officials could begin developing the policy framework for stronger regional cooperation.

“The better solution is stronger cooperation, clearer accountability and faster response. ASEAN represents nearly 700 million people. We should use that collective strength to build stronger partnerships with the world’s biggest technology companies,” Aguda said.

“If big tech wants access to the ASEAN market, accountability to ASEAN governments and protection of ASEAN citizens must come with that access,” he added. —VAL, GMA News