MANILA, Philippines — More than 100 websites carrying footage of school shootings and other extreme acts of violence are set to be blocked across PLDT and Smart networks, as Philippine authorities and telecommunications companies intensify efforts to stop the spread and glorification of violent content online.
PLDT Inc. and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. announced the move following a string of deadly school shootings that have renewed concerns over the influence of violent online material on young people. The network-level blocking will make the identified websites inaccessible through PLDT and Smart broadband and mobile services nationwide, according to reports from ABS-CBN News and Manila Bulletin.
The decision comes days after a fatal shooting at a school in Zamboanga City on August 18, where a Grade 9 student killed a Grade 10 student before taking his own life. Authorities said the attack was partially livestreamed using a body-worn camera. Two other people were also injured.
The Zamboanga shooting was the second deadly school attack in the Philippines in less than two months. In June, three students were killed and around 20 others were injured in a shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City.
Why the online content is now under scrutiny
The latest blocking initiative comes amid growing concern that graphic violence, shooting footage and online communities glorifying violent acts can expose vulnerable young people to increasingly extreme material.
A July investigation by The Straits Times reported that investigators and cybersecurity experts examining the Tacloban shooting raised concerns about an international online extremist ecosystem known as “764,” which allegedly targets vulnerable children through gaming platforms, private online communities and encrypted messaging services. Experts told a Senate hearing that recruitment can involve grooming, isolation, coercion and the normalization of extreme violence.
Philippine authorities have also previously taken action against online platforms and content they considered potential sources of violent influence. The government temporarily blocked the violent sandbox game GoreBox following the Tacloban shooting, while lawmakers called for stronger protections for children in digital spaces.
But cybersecurity specialists have warned that simply blocking individual websites may not completely solve the problem.
Experts cited by The Straits Times said technologically capable users can potentially circumvent website restrictions, while groups can migrate to new platforms or create replacement channels after existing ones are removed.
Zamboanga shooting puts livestreaming back in the spotlight
The August 18 Zamboanga attack intensified concerns about the way violent incidents can be recorded and distributed online.
According to Reuters, the student attacker entered a school campus carrying firearms and fired at students inside classrooms. Police said the victim was a Grade 10 student, while the shooter later died by suicide. Two other people were wounded, and additional students suffered injuries while fleeing the attack.
AP separately reported that the attack was livestreamed through a body-worn camera and that authorities were examining the suspect’s online activity as part of the investigation into possible motives and influences.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident and determine what additional measures could be taken to prevent similar violence in schools.
A bigger battle over children and violent content
The PLDT-Smart action is therefore part of a much larger national debate about how children should be protected from harmful online material.
At a Senate hearing following the Tacloban shooting, cybersecurity experts described a system in which vulnerable young people can allegedly be exposed to increasingly graphic material before being drawn into private online communities. Investigators told lawmakers that Philippine authorities had already conducted multiple rescue operations involving minors allegedly exposed to such networks.
The debate is now extending beyond individual websites to gaming platforms, social media services, messaging applications, app stores and school policies.
Senators have proposed tighter safeguards for minors online, including stronger regulation of harmful gaming content and restrictions involving children’s access to social media and smartphones in schools.
For PLDT and Smart users, the immediate consequence is straightforward: websites identified by the companies as carrying footage of school shootings and other extreme violence will be subject to network-level blocking.
But the broader question remains whether blocking access to violent footage can keep pace with the rapidly changing online ecosystem — and whether preventing the circulation of graphic material will be enough to stop vulnerable young people from being drawn toward violent online communities.
For now, the Philippines’ latest response sends a clear message: violent school-shooting footage will face a much harder path onto the country’s largest telecommunications networks.
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