Local consumer advocacy group Konsyumer at Mamamayan (KM) is taking the Senate to task for failing to act with urgency on site blocking bills that seek to clamp down on online piracy and cybercrime.
KM convenor Patrick Climaco said bills have languished in the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship even after their obvious advantages have been laid out by all the industry stakeholders being victimized by intellectual property violations.
“Where do our senators’ sympathies really lie – with the creative industry workers being deprived of just returns for their hard work, unsuspecting online users falling victim to fraud and identity theft, or to the shady individuals and groups that benefit from these activities?” said Climaco.
“Is there a rational reason for the delay? Are our honorable senators apathetic to the thousands of affected families in the entertainment and creatives industry?,” he added.
Two senators, both former movie actors supporting the clamor of the Philippine entertainment industry, have filed these measures—Senator Jinggoy Estrada filed Senate Bill 2150 to restrict access to websites promoting copyright violations, proposing fines of up to ₱1 million for such infractions while Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. filed Senate Bill No. 2385 expanding the authority and responsibilities of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), particularly in initiating site-blocking measures.
The House of Representatives has already passed House Bill No. 7600 authored by Rep. Joey Salceda in July 2023, which proposes updates to the 26-year-old Intellectual Property Code, including provisions for website blocking.
The bill aims to address legal gaps that enable online piracy and strengthen regulators' enforcement authority.
For its part, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has made progress through voluntary administrative site blocking, targeting notorious sites like YTS, Sflix, and MyFlixer.
But experts said that without stronger legal authority, these efforts remain limited as he tbhey emphasized that site blocking would empower authorities to swiftly cut off access to illegal sites, especially during critical periods when new content is most vulnerable.
“Only the passage of the consolidated bill will prevent further economic damage to the creative sector, which has already been bled dry by the billions by online pirates,” said Climaco.
“These are not your ordinary petty criminals operating on their own, and just for kicks. Rather, they are part of larger, sophisticated criminal enterprises that profit wholesale and deprive artists of the rightful fruits of their hard work,” he added.
According to a study by Media Partners Asia, the Philippine entertainment industry lost PHP 781 million due to rampant online video piracy in 2022. The amount reflects lost profits and the closure of studios.
“Imagine the great toll on our artists – the big names like actors, writers, and directors, but also the make-up artists, the lighting crew, the utility workers,” said Climaco. “They are demoralized and reluctant to unleash their creativity that would have taken the Philippines to new heights.”
Recent releases including movies from the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival have also seen countless illegal downloads, which are then circulated on social media. Worse, pirates even advertise access to pirated movies for as low as P249.
“Such brazenness comes from impunity, with the sense that the enforcement of anti-piracy laws is weak and these criminals can get away with their deeds,” Climaco said.
Aside from untold financial and psychological damage on the creative industry, online piracy also compromises the digital safety of internet users.
“When you go to these sites offering pirated content, you give them access to your private information, your location, your search and usage history, and many other things contained in your device,” Climaco said.
Research on “Consumer Risks from Piracy Sites in the Philippines” by Professor Paul A. Watters, a Professor of Criminology and Security Studies at Macquarie University and Professor of Cybersecurity at La Trobe University, shows Filipino consumers are nearly 30 times more likely to encounter malware on piracy sites.
“Let us disabuse ourselves of the thought that consuming pirated content gives us a cheaper alternative to the real thing. The costs are actually so much greater than we imagine," Climaco said.
Unknowingly, he said, people expose themselves to phishing scams, identity theft, and fraud. They may not be aware of it but they risk financial assets, even identities, when they stray into these illegal sites.
“This is a cybersecurity threat at the core level, because it strikes people personally, even intimately.” he added.