Lawmaker seeks to strengthen Anti-Child Pornography Act

Lawmaker seeks to strengthen Anti-Child Pornography Act

IN a bid to protect children against online exploitation, Rizal Second District Rep. Fidel Nograles urged colleagues in Congress to expedite passing a measure seeking to strengthen Republic Act (RA) 9775 or the “Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009.”

Nograles made the appeal amid reports that students are selling their nude photos and videos to raise funds for gadgets needed in distance learning classes amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“We have to place measures to protect our children — even from themselves. We have to act so that children are not forced to prostitute themselves because of their needs,” the lawmaker said.

Nograles’ has filed last year House Bill (HB) 7633 after the Department of Justice reported that cases of online child sex abuse had increased exponentially during the country’s community quarantines.

HB 7633 seeks to amend Section 9 of RA 9775, which allows internet service providers (ISPs) to install software that could block access to and transmittal of child pornography and notify authorities within seven days of detection of any internet address that may contain child pornography.

Nograles proposes to remove the clause that ISPs have claimed to hamper them from taking action, in particular, monitoring and blocking child pornography websites.

The measure also includes a section that bars foreign nationals who have committed any sex-related offenses from entering the Philippines, he said.

Meanwhile, Nograles urged the Department of Education to come up with better ways for students to cope with the demands of distance learning.

Nograles stressed that “our children should not be left to fend for themselves.”

“We in government should be the ones making solutions in their continuous education,” he said in Filipino.