Meta has agreed to hand over user information to Philippine law enforcement agencies during situations involving immediate threats of violence, Senator Risa Hontiveros announced on Friday, August 28.
The agreement was reached during a roundtable discussion at Meta’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore. A Philippine delegation, which included representatives sent by Hontiveros, met with the tech giant’s top regional policy executives to address how platforms like Facebook are utilized in spreading nihilistic violent extremism (NVE).
Hontiveros revealed that as the meeting was concluding without a clear resolution, her team urged Meta to commit to releasing subscriber information and traffic data whenever there are indicators of a potential attack—a request the company ultimately granted.
“Now that high-ranking Meta officials themselves have pledged to be more proactive regarding potential threats of violence, action against such threats must be swifter,” Hontiveros stated.
The lawmaker highlighted that this development aligns with pending legislation aimed at bolstering digital safety for youth.
“This is crucial, especially as we are currently pushing for the Child Online Safety and Protection Act, a priority measure of the government. Meta appears ready to tighten its safeguards, as we have already informed them that the bill is nearing passage,” the senator noted.
Hontiveros expects the arrangement to support the Child Online Safety and Protection Act once enacted into law.
The proposed measure expands on Republic Act No. 11930, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act, which she authored.
The senator emphasized that she gave explicit guidelines to her delegation prior to the dialogue.
“I gave strict instructions to the staff who met with Meta: It must be made clear to them that they cannot profit from Filipinos on Facebook without taking responsibility for the content,” she stressed.
“We will hold them to their word,” Hontiveros added.