Teach your children as early as their pre-school age: Nothing comes for free in this world. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

To me, this is the most important lesson shared by Dr. Paul Watters during a talk on Cybercrime and Piracy held Nov. 13 at Marriot Hotel.

Cyberspace offers too many freebies so tempting that people who have grown accustomed to getting things or results free of charge would normally succumb to such temptation.

If children are taught early on that they shouldn’t be fooled by anything that comes for free in this world, then they won’t fall prey to cybercrime.

Dr. Watters, a well-known professor and researcher at Macquarie University in Australia, said that Filipinos face a heightened risk of cyberthreats when they browse pirate sites, underscoring the need to urgently pass legislation allowing site blocking in the Philippines.

He is the author of a  study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) that said Filipinos are up to 33 times more likely to encounter cyber threats on popular pirate websites compared to legitimate film and TV platforms.

These findings were presented at an anti-piracy symposium organized by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), GMA Network, Inc., and Globe.

Watters cited how high internet and mobile data usage in the Philippines make Filipinos an attractive target for pirates. He said pirate sites provide a platform for criminals to harvest customer data more easily than hacking into websites to get data. Unfortunately, consumers in the Philippines use pirate sites unaware of their inherent dangers, including exposing their data.

With such consumer vulnerabilities, Watters underscored the need to put in place measures to ensure compliance and build awareness on the threats that lurk in pirate sites.

“Site-blocking of the most popular pirate sites is the most effective baseline option,” he said.

Yoly Crisanto, Globe’s Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer, cited the urgency for Congress to amend the Philippines’ outdated Intellectual Property Code to strengthen enforcement against content piracy, particularly authorizing site-blocking. All progress on amending bills will be lost once the current congressional session ends and new leaders take office after the 2025 elections.

In a fireside chat moderated by TV host Pia Guanio, fellow Globe  Ambassadors Edu Manzano, Shaina Magdayao, and Kim Atienza discussed how piracy has  crippled the entertainment industry.

Manzano, former head of the Optical Media Board, said the Philippine film industry used to produce over 200 films per year. Because of piracy, this number is down to less than 30 per year, leaving many industry workers out of jobs.

“We have to pressure like-minded members, congressmen  and senators alike and let them realize that laws become flawed soon after they pass because technology advances at an amazing pace,” Manzano said.

Magdayao said piracy has discouraged investments in the entertainment industry, limiting the great potential of Filipino creatives.

As a proud member of the AVIA-CAP and the Video Coalition of the Philippines, Globe actively supports legislative efforts to curb online piracy.