DICT, CICC to Meta: Do More Against Disinformation

To support President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive against digital misinformation and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)’s broader “Good Vibes sa Internet” initiative, the DICT and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC) have called on Meta—the parent company of Facebook and Instagram—to strengthen its efforts against fake accounts, disinformation, and coordinated inauthentic behavior, extending beyond the May 12 national and local elections.

During a May 2, 2025 coordination meeting, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda, Assistant Secretary Renato “Aboy” Paraiso, and CICC Director Rojun Hosillos met with Meta’s regional representative, Genixon David, who updated them on the removal of thousands of fake accounts and pages, some linked to foreign-led disinformation campaigns.

While acknowledging these actions as positive, the officials expressed concern about Meta’s slow response to harmful content, especially during elections. They emphasized the need for faster, culturally informed content moderation to minimize potential harm. Secretary Aguda stressed that “[F]ilipino content carries cultural nuance—humor, sarcasm, regional dialects. Without deeper engagement from Meta’s moderation teams, critical context is missed, and legitimate content may be wrongly removed or harmful content can slip through,” urging Meta to enhance its local operations with dedicated moderation teams and clear escalation channels.

This call aligns with practices among other major platforms in the Philippines, which use 24- to 48-hour takedown protocols and maintain dedicated communication lines during crises. Meta responded that it is reviewing its coordination structure, and both parties expressed optimism about continuing their collaboration.