Scam Watch Pilipinas calls on PH gov’t to build ASEAN Front for Big Tech accountability on harmful content

• IN PHOTO: Scam Watch Pilipinas Co-Founder and Lead Convenor Jocel de Guzman

Scam Watch Pilipinas is calling on the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to use the Philippine 2026 ASEAN Chairship to lead a united regional push to hold the world’s biggest technology companies accountable for harmful content, scams and other online threats.

Scam Watch Pilipinas Co-Founder and Lead Convenor Jocel de Guzman said DICT Secretary Henry Aguda should make ASEAN digital sovereignty a priority regional agenda to strengthen Big Tech accountability across Southeast Asia.

“For too long, countries like the Philippines have been dealing with the world’s biggest technology companies individually. When we ask platforms to act on harmful content, scam advertisements, fake accounts or other digital threats, cooperation often depends on the willingness of the platform because our jurisdiction and enforcement reach are limited,” De Guzman said.

He said the failure of platforms to cooperate should not leave governments choosing between accepting harmful activity online and imposing outright bans or blocks.

“Blocking should not be our default answer. The better solution is to strengthen the ability of governments to regulate these companies, compel cooperation and hold them accountable when they repeatedly fail to act,” he said.

De Guzman said the European Union provides an important model for how governments can collectively regulate technology companies through measures such as the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act.

The Digital Services Act imposes transparency and systemic-risk obligations on major online platforms and allows regulators to impose significant penalties for violations. The Digital Markets Act has also required designated technology gatekeepers to provide greater interoperability, data portability and consumer choice within digital ecosystems.

“That is regulation driving innovation, not killing it. ASEAN does not have to copy Europe, but we should study what worked and build a framework that reflects the realities of Southeast Asia,” De Guzman said.

He said differences in access to global technology products and services also illustrate how individual Southeast Asian markets do not always receive the same treatment as larger economies.

Google still does not officially sell Pixel phones in the Philippines. Microsoft Surface products are also not officially sold locally, while Microsoft has said there is no Surface repair center in the country. Sony’s PlayStation services remain significantly limited for Filipino users, with official Philippine PlayStation accounts currently restricted to PC use and unavailable for console access or the PlayStation App. Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses are officially available in Singapore and other selected markets but not yet officially offered in the Philippines.

“These may be commercial decisions, but together they tell us something important. Filipinos consume the products and platforms of the world’s biggest technology companies, but we do not always receive the same access, services or market consideration given to consumers elsewhere,” De Guzman said.

“ASEAN changes that equation. Nearly 700 million people acting as one regional market is very different from individual governments asking Big Tech to cooperate one country at a time.”

De Guzman proposed that the Philippines initiate discussions on an ASEAN Big Tech Accountability Framework covering major digital platforms operating across the region.

The proposed framework could require accountable regional representation from major platforms, establish clear timelines for responding to government requests involving harmful content and scams, strengthen transparency in digital advertising and content moderation, improve safeguards for children and vulnerable users, require assessments of systemic online risks and provide meaningful consequences for persistent non-compliance.

Scam Watch Pilipinas also wants ASEAN to explore a mechanism allowing member states to coordinate their response when a major platform repeatedly refuses to cooperate with authorities in one country.

“This is not about controlling the internet. It is about restoring balance. Big Tech operates across borders; scammers operate across borders and harmful content spreads across borders. Regulation cannot remain trapped within national borders,” De Guzman said.

He said Aguda and the DICT have an opportunity to use the Philippine ASEAN Chairship to initiate the regional conversation and develop a stronger collective negotiating position for Southeast Asia.

“The Philippines should lead this discussion. Secretary Aguda and the DICT can put ASEAN digital sovereignty on the agenda and use it to build a stronger regional framework for Big Tech accountability, especially on harmful content, scams and other cross-border online threats,” De Guzman said.

“If Big Tech wants access to nearly 700 million ASEAN consumers, accountability to those same consumers cannot be optional.”

(The Scam Watch Pilipinas and TechWatch PH are both powered by Truth360 Inc.)