DICT mulls banning Telegram in PH
The Department of Information and Communications Technology is considering banning Telegram in the Philippines over cybercrime concerns.
In an interview with DZRH, DICT Sec. Henry Aguda discussed how pornographic content and illegal gambling activities were reportedly spreading in the messaging app.
He said that the agency has encountered some difficulties coordinating with Telegram, which is based in Russia.
"Pinag-aaralan na namin na i-ban siya (Telegram) pagka may nakita pa kami na talagang talamak at walang pagbabago," Aguda said.
"Kasi 'yung mga illegal gambling lumipat ng Telegram eh."
Apart from Telegram, Aguda has also coordinated with Meta to tamp down on online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
"Ayon ang napag-agreehan namin na non-negotiable [...] Sabi ko kapag may nakita pa 'kong isa, magalit na sa akin ang magalit pero ibo-block ko sila."
If you encounter inappropriate content on your Facebook or Instagram feed, Aguda urged the public to copy the link to the post and email it to 1326@dict.gov.ph.
Other countries have banned or restricted Telegram, including China, Iran, United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, and more, over issues like national security concerns.
In Russia, the app's founder Pavel Durov is under investigation over a criminal case involving alleged terrorism.
In January, the DICT blocked Grok over users generating images that removed clothing from women and children in pictures with the AI chatbot. Access was later restored following commitments from Grok developers to remove image-manipulation tools.
