Philippine authorities have secured an agreement with Meta to provide subscriber and traffic data when the company identifies potential violent threats involving children, even before an attack occurs, according to Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

Key terms of the agreement

Meta will hand over subscriber information and traffic data once it identifies a threat to children’s safety, prior to any actual attack.

The commitment was made during a roundtable between a Philippine government delegation and Meta’s Asia-Pacific policy officials at Meta’s Singapore headquarters.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), which co-led the discussion with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, said Meta will “readily provide” credentials and relevant data linked to online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC), child sexual abuse material (CSAEM), obscene content, and other forms of online abuse.

Once the National Bureau of Investigation issues a subpoena, Meta will provide the requested data, subject to legal requirements and applicable laws, to help investigators identify perpetrators and move cases forward more quickly.

This is seen as a positive step for passing Senate Bill No. 2424, the Child Online Safety and Protection Act, according to Sen. Hontiveros, who is chair of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality.

Sponsored by the Senate floor, the bill is about regulating children’s access to social media until they reach the minimum age of 16. Hontiveros said Meta’s leaders appeared ready to strengthen safeguards and act quickly in threatening situations, while warning the company that it must remain accountable for content on its platforms as it continues to earn from Filipino users.

Amid recent online threats involving children and fatal school shootings in the Philippines, some lawmakers had earlier called for banning Meta in the country. With the new cooperation framework, CICC Executive Director Undersecretary Renato Paraiso said banning is now “the last option,” and expressed hope that the concrete areas of cooperation will translate into actual improvements in online safety for Filipinos, especially children.