American tech giant Meta recently took down 20 pages of influencers promoting illegal gambling in the Philippines from Facebook. The action followed a formal request from the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Centre (CICC), the lead Filipino agency responsible for identifying and preventing cybercrime in the country.
Meta Takes Down Ads: Action Explained
- The action comes amid growing concerns of the unchecked rise of illegal online gambling in the Philippines.
- Authorities had warned social media influencers and celebrities about possible action if found promoting illicit gambling operations.
- Many influencers ignored the CICC’s July 11 deadline to take down content promoting unlawful gambling sites, assuming the lack of enforcement.
Meta Takes Action Against Filipino Influencers
Meta recently updated its policy on gambling ads run on Facebook and Instagram. The latest example is the removal of Facebook pages of Filipino influencers and celebrities promoting illegal online casinos in the country. A digital advocacy group, Digital Pinoys, stated in a Facebook post that the initial list submitted to Meta included the names of prominent social media stars with followers ranging from thousands to millions.
Some of the prominent faces that have been affected include actor Mark Anthony Fernandez with 242,000 followers, Kuya Lex TV with 100,000 followers, Boy Tapang with 5.5 million followers, and Sachzna Laparan with 9.7 million followers. The action comes amid growing concerns of the unchecked rise of illegal online gambling in the country.
The CICC had warned digital content creators and influencers about their role in promoting unlicensed gambling platforms. Celebrities who had earlier ignored legal notices to remove gambling promotions had their pages removed from Facebook to protect viewers from gambling harm. Ronald Gustilo, National Campaigner for Digital Pinoys, said:
“We thank Meta for swiftly acting on our joint request with CICC to take down the pages of influencers blatantly promoting illegal online gambling. We hope the remaining pages flagged in our initial report will be removed in the coming days.”
Influencers Ignore CICC’s Legal Notice Leading to Action
The CICC had set a deadline for July 11 to allow influencers time to remove content promoting illegal gambling sites. However, many ignored the deadline and continued posting fresh content, assuming the lack of enforcement. Meta’s crackdown on the initial 20 pages offers a taste of what is yet to come. Digital Pinoys added:
“This is only the initial list of influencers promoting illegal online gambling that Digital Pinoys has endorsed to CICC for page takedown. Review and verification of influencers to determine whether the platforms they promote are properly licensed is continuously being undertaken.”
The CICC reiterated that anyone found violating legal provisions against promoting illegal gambling sites would face action. The agency stated that influencers must be held accountable when their actions promote harmful or unlawful activities.
As part of the Philippines’ efforts towards safe online gambling, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has pledged support for the upcoming changes proposed by lawmakers to regulate the gambling industry. Several bills regarding online gambling reforms have been presented in both chambers of Congress. The reforms include banning all forms of digital payments for gambling transactions, stricter age restrictions, raising the minimum deposit limit, etc.
PAGCOR went a step ahead to launch a digital platform called PAGCOR Guarantee, which enables users to verify the legality of gambling sites operating in the Philippines. The website is part of the government’s efforts to clamp down on unlicensed betting operators targeting Filipino consumers.