'Horrifying' Facebook, YouTube Pages Promote Child Sexual Abuse: Hontiveros
TW: Sexual abuse on children.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Thursday urged authorities to look into pages on Facebook and YouTube whose posts that promote sexual abuse of children.
Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate committee on women and children, shared screenshots from a page called "Usapang Diskarte" which produces video content encouraging sexual acts between young girls and adult males.
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"The people behind these accounts should be brought to justice," Hontiveros said in a tweet as she called on Facebook, YouTube, and the Philippine National Police to investigate the social media page and channel.
"Panawagan ko po sa mga kababayan i-report natin ang page na yan, at mga accounts tulad niyan, upang tuluyang mabura online ang mga accounts na nang-aabuso ng mga bata," she also said in a separate statement.
Hontiveros earlier filed the proposed Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children Law which seeks to give further protection to children against online sexual abuse.
Under the bill, social media sites like Facebook are mandated to block and remove materials involving online sexual abuse of children within 24 hours from receiving a notice. It also requires them to preserve such evidence, devise procedures to prevent, detect, block and report similar materials.
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The measure also further empowers law enforcers to investigate and prosecute Filipino and foreign perpetrators of online sexual abuse on children, especially those who are hiding behind the screen.
The Senate and the House of Representatives both approved the measure on third and final reading, but it has yet to be enacted into law.
"These horrifying photos tell us what we already knew: that an Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children law is absolutely and urgently needed," Hontiveros said.
"I call on the executive to sign the Anti-OSAEC law now. Our children need the full power and protection of this measure," she added.