The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) announced Wednesday, Oct. 20, that a forum will be held on Nov. 9 to tackle available technologies that would help ensure the protection of children against online sexual abuse and exploitation.
Entitled, “1st Principals Forum on Available Technologies to Combat Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC)”, the forum is initiated by the DSWD together with the member-agencies of the Inter-Agency Council Against Child Pornography (IACACP).
“The forum will feature the result of the study conducted by the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s (DICT) on available technologies to block and filter Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) and Child Sexual Exploitation Materials (CSEM),” the DSWD said in a statement.
“In addition, the forum will also tackle the roles and responsibilities of the private sector in creating a safe and child friendly space online by installing filtering and blocking software as indicated in Republic Act No. 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009.”
Member-agencies of IACACP, non-government organizations, and other development partners are expected to participate in the forum.
The DSWD expressed hope that the results of the discussion in the forum will pave the way for all sectors to join hands to combat the increasing circulation of CSEM and CSAM materials in cyberspace.
It vowed to continue coordinating with law enforcement units and other concerned agencies to protect children against OSAEC.