By Liezelle Soriano
MANILA — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is advocating for the regulation of TikTok and other similar platforms due to concerns regarding national security.
DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy made this statement in response to the United States’ decision to ban TikTok.
“We are currently under scrutiny, and I’m not yet aware of the evidence behind it… However, we welcome the enactment of laws. Because there’s a bill that has been filed… We welcome the enactment of laws that would authorize the President of the Republic to control or regulate applications that are being utilized for such purposes,” Dy stated in a radio interview when questioned about TikTok’s alleged use for espionage.
Moreover, Dy mentioned that the agency is also investigating Telegram, citing instances where the application has been utilized to leak databases.
“Other applications are being utilized—for instance, Telegram. It’s not espionage, but it’s being used to leak hacked government databases,” the DICT official added.
Previously, House Deputy Majority Leader Bienvenido Abante filed a bill proposing the prohibition of “foreign adversary-controlled” applications in the country.
“The provisions in this proposed bill concentrate on national security threats and an application’s ownership by a foreign adversary. The primary motivation behind this bill is for our nation to be vigilant against foreign adversary countries infiltrating our communication infrastructure and undermining our cybersecurity and intelligence,” Abante remarked.
(el Amigo/MNM)
