Written by: Jhanavi Ravi
Visual by: Anamaria Reyes
As technology has developed over the years, the internet has been used by more, and more people. There are many benefits this has brought over the last few decades. Unfortunately, its usage has also had some adverse impacts on the people of the Philippines. According to Kaspersky Security Network, the Philippines was ranked 6th amongst countries with the most cyber threats in 2020. Cyber threats have historically been overlooked by the government. This is most likely because it is not believed to be a significant problem. In order for people to stay safe on the internet, it is vital that the current generation of students learn about cyber-security and what dangers might occur when going on the internet.
Because of cybercrimes and web threats, people in the Philippines are highly vulnerable on the internet. In an interview with CNN, the Philippines National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group Spokesperson, Joseph Villaran, stated online shopping was the most common form of online scams with around 37% of the cybercrimes on the internet in the Philippines being online scams. Online shopping is something done by the Philippine population very frequently, with 57% of Filipinos shopping online at the beginning of 2020. This means that online scams can occur very frequently. Because of COVID-19, people have spent significantly more time on the internet and purchasing more items online which is why so many online scams have occurred recently. Even adults do not have much knowledge on how to stay safe on the internet, which makes the knowledge that children have on the matter even less. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called the Philippines the “global epicenter of the live-stream sexual abuse trade” with one in five Filipino children at risk of online sexual exploitation. In 2018, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office received over 600,000 cybertips – a reporting system for the online exploitation of children – of sexual images of Filipino children. This shows how often online sexual abuse against children happens. The security, privacy, and right to the body that is granted to every child are violated when they are exposed to the crimes on the internet that exploit them sexually. A large contributing factor to cybercrimes like online sexual exploitation and online scams is a lack of awareness. Children are very naive, and they don’t know any better. However, in the future, they are on track to be the generation that uses the internet the most in the Philippines. If anything, the current generation will have to depend on technology more than the previous generation has, which is why they need to know the dangers of the internet. Considering how much technology is going to be involved in their lives and careers, which puts the economy of the Philippines at stake. For these reasons, children need to be taught about how they can use the internet safely and how they can identify when someone online is trying to take advantage of them.
Now that organizations like UNICEF have highlighted the issue of online sexual abuse against children and how often it occurs in the Philippines, authorities have begun to realize the importance of educating children in the Philippines on the issue. The Australian Government has introduced an initiative known as the ‘SaferKids PH’ campaign which is in partnership with UNICEF, Save the Children Philippines, and the Asia Foundation. This initiative aims to engage the government, non-government agencies. Civil society, communities, and schools, as well as the private sector to support and be part of innovative and sustainable solutions. Through this initiative, the Australian government is determined in spending the next 4-5 years supporting the Philippines Government’s efforts in raising national and local awareness on children’s online safety.
It is vital that the authorities and the Philippines government understand the effect of cybercrimes on the Philippines population for them to understand why the youth have to be educated on the issue. Technology continues to advance, and with this comes the needs to bring light to the perilous sides of the internet. The country cannot afford to wait for an epidemic of cybercrimes for the government to understand that this is something that needs to be addressed; action needs to be taken now, or cybercrimes can become even worse and can even become uncontrollable, and the first step to that is awareness.
Citations:
Abad, Michelle. “Why online sexual exploitation of children happens in the Philippines.” Rappler, 11 Feb 2020, https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/things-to-know-online-sexual-exploitation-children-philippines. Accessed 23 Feb 2021.
“Add To Cart: Filipino Online Shopping Grows By 57 Percent, Highest in Southeast Asia, E-Commerce Group Finds.” One News, 22 Oct 2020, https://www.onenews.ph/add-to-cart-filipino-online-shopping-grows-by-57-percent-highest-in-southeast-asia-e-commerce-group-finds. Accessed 25 Feb 2021.
Cabuenas, Jon D. “Philippines 6th among countries with the most online threats in 2020.” GMA News, 22 Feb 2021, https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/technology/776942/philippines-6th-among-countries-with-the-most-online-threats-in-2020/story/. Accessed 23 Feb 2021.
CNN Philippines staff. “Online scams, libel cases top PNP’s cybercrime list from March to September.” CNN, 27 Oct 2020, https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/10/27/Online-scams-libel-cases-top-PNP-s-cybercrime-list-.html. Accessed 25 Feb 2021.
NCMEC. “CyberTipline.” National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/cybertipline. Accessed 24 Feb 2021.
UNICEF. “New campaign SaferKidsPH to raise awareness on online sexual exploitation of children.” UNICEF, 22 Oct 2019, https://www.unicef.org/philippines/press-releases/new-campaign-saferkidsph-raise-awareness-online-sexual-exploitation-children. Accessed 26 Feb 2021.
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