PLDT blocks over 650,000 attempts to access child exploitation material

The PLDT Group said it ramped up its efforts against online child sexual abuse and exploitation (OSAEC), blocking over 650,000 attempts to access child sexual abuse and exploitation materials (CSAEM) in the first eight months of 2025.

The telecommunications company has identified nearly two million URLs containing exploitative child content since June 2021.

PLDT and Smart first vice president and head of public engagement Roby Alampay said the company is “guided by our child safeguarding policy.”

“We have adopted a child safety-by-design approach across our products and services,” he said.

“Recognizing the scale of the problem, we continue to welcome collaboration with child safety advocates to help create a safer digital space where children can thrive,” Alampay said.

The PLDT Group said it employs a multi-pronged approach to child online protection, combining technology, company culture, multi-sector collaboration and public awareness campaigns.

At the core of these efforts is PLDT’s pioneering Child Protection Platform, which blocks CSAEM at the content level.

The company has strengthened its ability to detect malicious links by becoming a member of the UK-based Internet Watch Foundation and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s Project Arachnid, enabling it to blacklist content from its network.

Technology is complemented by community engagement programs that raise awareness of OSAEC.

Through its Better Today for Kids initiative, the group recently taught more than 400 students from eight schools in Antipolo, Rizal, how to #BeCyberSmart, supporting the Department of Justice-Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (DOJ IACAT) awareness caravan on human trafficking and OSAEC.

In Norzagaray, Bulacan, over 30 teachers learned about the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create CSAEM, which they can share with parents and students.

PLDT and Smart briefed barangay officials in Calamba, Laguna, on how criminals exploit AI to produce realistic child images during Project Bayanihan.

The companies also donated copies of Ang Paglalakbay ni Tala (Tala’s Adventure), a children’s book co-developed with Kids for Kids PH and the Positive Youth Development Network.

The story introduces digital rights and online safety in a child-friendly way while warning about online dangers.

The PLDT Group also shared its child protection framework with around 100 representatives from government, civil society, academe and the private sector during a Barangay IACAT event in Zamboanga City.

The group’s BeCyberSmart program has reached over 100,000 people nationwide, including students, children, teachers, parents, local government unit staff, farmers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), seniors, people with disabilities and indigenous peoples.