Technology

Philippines' MANILA According to the most recent Freedom of the Net report from Washington-based non-profit Freedom House, internet freedom in the Philippines has significantly decreased over the past year as a result of the Duterte and Marcos administrations imposing new restrictions on online spaces. The Philippines' score in the index decreased from 65 out of 100 last year to 61 this year, being labeled as "partly free." "Just before leaving office, the Duterte administration blacklisted 27 websites, including online news sites. After the election, the online information environment is still replete with misinformation, and President Marcos Jr.'s SIM card registration…

Vietnam's HANOI According to official media, the communist government of Vietnam requested that almost 800 "anti-state" or "false" posts be taken down over the course of a month on Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. The state-run Thanh Nien daily said, citing the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), that between mid-August and mid-September, some 380 YouTube videos, 364 Facebook posts, and 33 TikTok links were removed or restricted. The study also stated that some of the posts had "false and negative…content against the party, state, organizations, and individuals…defaming leaders." No opposition to one-party rule is tolerated in communist Vietnam, and the…

Scam Watch Pilipinas applauds CICC's proactive approach to tracking app usage to improve the digital experience for Filipinos. As part of its initiative to safeguard consumers, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) is now using the Consumer Application Monitoring System, or CAMS, to monitor consumer applications and notify the public of any observed performance concerns. Less than two weeks prior to the first advisory being released, this was formally started. On September 26, 2023, CAMS alerted CICC about persistent failed efforts to send video and file transfers on the Viber platform, demonstrating the efficiency of CAMS in real-time monitoring…