Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday, July 19 renewed her call for the signing into law of the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) Law as she discovers more Facebook groups that are created to prey on children.
As a mother, Hontiveros said she is more concerned now about the security of her children in the internet, as she exposed a series of public groups on Facebook, named “Atabs” and “LF Kuya and Bunso” that post images of minors to attract predators.
These abusers, the senator said, also use Facebook groups to advertise that they also sell photos or videos of minors on messaging apps, such as Telegram.
“Nakakasuklam at nakakagalit na may mga taong tahasang nang-aabuso sa ating kabataan. Gamit narin nila ang Facebook messenger or Telegram para mag-usap at magbenta ng libo-libong mga pictures at videos. Ang iba, gumagamit pa ng cloud storage tulad ng Mega dahil napakalaki ng volume (it’s disgusting that there are people who outright commit abuse against children. They are using Facebook Messenger or Telegram to communicate and sell thousands of pictures and videos. Others are using cloud storage like Mega because of the huge volume),” Hontiveros explained.
“Bilang ina, mas lalo akong nangangamba sa seguridad ng ating mga anak sa internet. Kailangang maipasa na ang Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) Law para tunay na mapanagot ang mga salarin at pati ang mga social media platforms at internet intermediaries na hinahayaang lumaganap ang kabastusang ito (As a mother, I became more afraid of my children’s security in the internet. We need to pass the OSAEC law so we can prosecute the abusers and the social media platforms and internet intermediaries that allow these crimes to flourish),” she said.
Hontiveros is the principal author and sponsor of the proposed OSAEC law.
Last week, the lawmaker bared the Usapang Diskarte Facebook page and Youtube Channel, that teaches its subscribers on how to prey on children. After the senator’s call to her followers to report the account, both the page and the channel were taken down by Facebook and YouTube.
But Hontiveros said it is not enough for the such page or channel to be just taken down, saying even if these are reported online, they would just create new accounts to pursue their business.
She said it is imperative for social media platforms and messaging apps to be more proactive in preventing such child abuses.
“Parte na ng buhay ng ating kabataan ang internet. Pero hindi dapat maging parte ang karahasan at pangaabuso sa kanila — offline man o online. Gawin na natin ang lahat para matiyak ang kaligtasan ng ating mga anak. Ipasa na ang Anti-OSAEC Law (The internet is already part of our children’s lives. But violence and abuses should not be part of their lives—offline or online. Let’s do our best to ensure the safety of our children. Let’s pass the Anti-OSAEC law),” the senator reiterated.