A consumer advocacy group reiterated its call for the immediate passage of the long-stalled Site Blocking Bill, urging the Senate to follow the lead of South Korea and Indonesia where aggressive anti-piracy laws have delivered “real economic benefits and curbed cyber threats.”
CitizenWatch Philippines convenor lawyer Christopher Belmonte warned that continued inaction is harming Filipino creatives and leaving consumers exposed to online crime.
“South Korea and Indonesia have shown us the playbook,” Belmonte said. “When we empower our authorities and telcos to shut down piracy websites, we don’t just protect the rights of our intellectual property owners, we protect jobs, bolster the growth of our creative industry, and keep our citizens safe.”
A 2024 report by IPHouse published by the Digital Citizens Alliance (DCA) revealed dramatic drops in piracy-related traffic following site-blocking enforcement in multiple countries: 89 percent in the United Kingdom, 70 percent in Portugal, 69 percent in Australia, 98 percent in South Korea, and 95 percent in Indonesia. It also found that legal streaming increased in India and Brazil by 8 percent and 5 percent, respectively, within a year of implementing anti-piracy strategies.
“These numbers prove that strong anti-piracy measures are integral to a thriving digital economy,” Belmonte said. “In South Korea, those enforcement efforts helped push content exports to an all-time high—USD $13 billion from K-dramas and films alone. That’s the reward for protecting the creative industry,” he added.
Belmonte said the Philippine creative sector could follow the same trajectory if given the proper legislative backing. He pointed out that the Philippine creative economy contributed ₱1.72 trillion to the gross domestic product in 2023, and yet the industry is being gutted by unchecked online piracy. According to Media Partners Asia, local entertainment lost ₱781 million in 2022 due to illegal downloads and streams.
He underscored that piracy doesn’t just affect big production studios and celebrities. “It’s the lighting crews, set builders, writers, camera operators, and scores of linked services needed in the production of each project. These are hardworking and talented Filipinos who lose income when content is stolen,” he said.
Belmonte added that many of the piracy sites being accessed by Filipinos are operated abroad and are beyond the reach of local law enforcement, making site blocking a critical tool.
“These are operated by cybercrime operations linked to scams, malware, identity theft, and data harvesting. A study by cybersecurity expert Dr. Paul Watters found that Filipinos are nearly 30 times more likely to encounter malware on piracy sites than on legal platforms,” he warned.
Despite the clear data and the multi-sectoral support from, content creators, telcos, consumer groups, and the entertainment industry, the bill has been stalled for over three years in the Senate. While the House of Representatives passed its version in 2023, the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship chaired by Sen Allan Peter Cayetano has yet to act on it.
“The DCA report shows that we are lagging behind over 50 countries that have successfully implemented site-blocking frameworks making the Philippines a risky investment for content development,” Belmonte said.
He emphasized that site blocking does not infringe on digital freedom. “Site blocking isn’t censorship—it’s law enforcement. It’s shutting down theft, and our netizen’s safety, not silencing free expression.”
With mid-term elections nearing only a few days of legislative sessions when Congress reconvenes, Belmonte noted, “If the Site Blocking Bill dies in this Congress, billions in potential revenue will be lost to piracy syndicates, Filipino consumers will face escalating cybersecurity threats, and our creative industry will continue to suffer,” he said.
