A GOVERNMENT agency is considering legal action against social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) over the proliferation of online scams, officials said Saturday.
Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) executive director Alexander Ramos said the social network giants have not been cooperative in implementing local laws to protect consumers.
“Hindi lang Facebook, tatlong platforms ang aming kakasuhan. Magpa-file kami ng official complaint na,” Ramos said in an interview on Teleradyo Serbisyo.
Social media platforms give users the option to report posts and accounts, which can lead to the deletion of posts and the suspension or termination of accounts.
“Sa dami ng ano namin dito eh hindi sila nagko-cooperate towards implementation of local laws natin. For them to operate lalong-lalo na pagdating sa negosyo, online commerce, dapat they should adhere to local regulations also,” he added.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) assistant secretary Amanda Nograles said the Philippines could regulate foreign businesses operating locally, including taking down the posts of suspicious online sellers and issuing fines against the platform.
She noted that social media companies should have oversight over businesses that use their platforms.
“Historically, nagiging respondent din iyong Marketplace kapag nagreklamo iyong consumer. Dapat meron silang supervision, tsine-check nila kung sino iyong pinagbebenta nila sa platform nila. And because of that, napapanagot namin sila, pinapa-fine namin sila,” Nograles said.
Marketplace allows users to post items for sale. Transactions are done directly between Facebook users.
Ramos disclosed that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed during the recent cyber security summit to file a protest against social media companies over scams and other illegal activities on their platforms.
“Kasi nga napakalaki nila, hindi pinapansin ang mga maliliit na bansa, tulad natin, might as well take it to court, ‘di ba? Para matauhan naman,” Ramos said.
Citing the latest report released by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) and Gogolook, a TrustTech provider and the company behind the anti-scam app Whoscall, Scam Watch Pilipinas co-lead convenor Art Samaniego Jr. said the Philippines has the highest rate of shopping scams in Asia.
He noted that Facebook is the most common platform where Filipinos face scam risks, with 72.3 percent of respondents saying they have received scam messages or calls on the social media site.
“Bakit walang nagre-reklamo? Samantalang sa Australia, kasi gumagamit ang mga scammer ng pictures ng celebrities, dinemanda ng Australia ang Facebook dahil sa mga scams na nangyari.” (ABS-CBN News)
