Telcos, anti-piracy advocates laud IPOPHL’s site-blocking rules

Internet service providers (ISPs) and anti-piracy partners commended the new site blocking rules released by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) last month, vowing to do their part in immediately disabling access upon order from IPOPHL and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to help the creative economy flourish more fully. 

Senior Vice President for Globe Telecom’s Corporate Communications Yolanda Crisanto said the new rules are a wish come true for the company which has been running its #PlayItRight anti-piracy campaign since 2017. 

“What we are doing today is such an important step. We are no longer tied down. We can do something about piracy,” Crisanto said, adding that she still hopes to see the site blocking bills at Congress and Senate passed into law for stronger and wider-scale implementation. 

PLDT-Smart’s Deputy Chief Information Security Officer Ellen Solosod lamented how Filipinos, as top internet users, would “fall prey to illegal websites or pirate websites.” 

Recently, the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) released a new report, “Consumer Risks from Piracy in the Philippines,” which found that Filipino consumers visiting pirate streaming sites are 21.66 times more likely to be infected with malware compared to mainstream sites, with 10% of visits resulting in malware infection. When visiting pirate torrent sites, Filipino consumers are 16.66 times more likely to be infected with malware, with an infection rate of 18%. 

“We vow we will work closely with IPOPHL and NTC to put a stop to piracy,” Solosod said.

Dito Telecommunity’s Intellectual Property Manager Enriquito L. Cruz said the collaborative effort to block pirated sites protects the substantial revenues of the creative sector, which totaled P1.60 trillion or 7.3% of the 2022 GDP.

“If we allow wide-scale piracy, it will be  tantamount to an economic sabotage on the creative industry,” Cruz said. 

For his part, Neil Gane, Head of Asia Pacific Operations at the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) — the content protection and piracy arm of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) — was attending as a longtime partner in building IPOPHL’s site blocking capacity. He lauded the collaborative endeavor undertaken, calling the country’s site blocking regime the “first in Asia Pacific and second in the world” after Germany for a voluntary mechanism.

Sky Cable’s Head of Core Network and Engineering Solito G. Mapolon said the company believes “it is a critical responsibility of ISPs to provide access to legitimate content to the public as a whole.

GMA Network Senior International Operations Manager Christine Cherry FlorCruz, who was also an observer, called the joint initiative a “breakthrough” in protecting the creative industry and expressed its full support to deliver on its commitment. 

Globe, PLDT-Smart, Dito and Sky are the ISPs that signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IPOPHL last week as they commit to block sites upon IPOPHL’s request once a violation has been determined. This approach streamlines the current process which requires the involvement of the NTC, the agency being the primary regulator of ISPs. To recall, several ISPs expressed support for the site blocking rules as early as 2021 when it participated in an industry-wide consultation held by IPOPHL’s IP Rights Enforcement Office.

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