VP Robredo to push for a law penalizing social media sites that make porn accessible
Vice President Leni Robredo said the Philippines needs a law that will penalize social media sites that make pornography accessible to minors.
When asked about how she would address porn addiction among teens and its prevalence on popular social media sites, the presidential candidate said there's a need to enact a law to deal with the issue.
"Yung isang wala sa atin ngayon, wala tayong batas na nagseseek to make accountable itong mga social media sites. Ang gusto kong sabihin kung anong ilalabas sa Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, whether porn ‘yan or fake news, wala tayong control," Robredo said.
"Kailangan magkaroon tayo ng batas na mag-criminalize na mag-penalize ng social media sites for them to be accountable and responsible na hindi dapat accessible sa mga tao na wala pa sa kahandaan na mag-process."
In 2021, the Philippines was among PornHub's top sources of traffic. Some social media platforms like Twitter allow mature content to be shared, but they are marked as sensitive content.
Robredo clarified that the law wouldn't aim to censor content on the platforms but would ask for the sites to make explicit content inaccessible to kids.
"'Di ako digital person pero I’m sure there should be a way kasi ngayon merong mga apps diba na yung mga magulang can control what their children can access. It should be a collaboration between the social media platforms, the families, the schools, pati yung pamahalaan," she said.
The VP was also asked to comment on President Rodrigo Duterte's calling her "weak" and "mahina sa diskarte."
"Pinakita ko over the years, Boy, na yung mga difficulties, yung mga roadblocks na tinapon sa aking daan, nalagpasan ko yung lahat, dahil sa diskarte," Robredo said.
"Ako, in many, many instances—and I can cite a few—’pag merong sakuna, merong krisis, sino ba yung unang nasa ground? Kami. Nung nag-Marawi siege maraming bagyo na dumaan, yung lindol—kami yung nandoon. Nung in-offer sa akin yung ICAD (Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs), lahat na taong nakapaligid sa akin, sinabi, ‘Huwag mo yang tanggapin kasi trap iyan.’ I felt that it was an opportunity for me to make a difference."