Lagging behind the anti-piracy fight
In his April 14, 2025, column for the Manila Standard, Orlando Oxales critiques the Philippine Senate’s delay in passing the Site Blocking Bill, aimed at combating online piracy. Despite support from industry stakeholders and evidence from over 50 countries—including South Korea, the UK, and Australia—that site-blocking effectively reduces piracy and boosts legal content consumption, the bill remains stalled.
Oxales highlights that in 2022, the Philippine entertainment sector lost approximately ₱781 million due to illegal streaming and downloads, impacting not only major production companies but also freelance workers and small businesses. He warns that piracy sites often harbor malware, posing cybersecurity risks to consumers.
Two Senate bills—SB 2150 by Senator Jinggoy Estrada and SB 2385 by Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.—propose empowering the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) and ISPs to block access to foreign-operated piracy websites. However, both bills are pending before the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship. Oxales urges swift legislative action to protect the creative economy and consumer safety.
