The Philippine government and Meta will form a joint team to respond faster to harmful content, online threats, and the sexual abuse and exploitation of children on Meta’s platforms, according to a media releasefrom the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). The agreement comes amid growing concern about the dangers Filipino children and teenagers face online. These include false information, abusive content, and threats of violence. The team, which will formally call a technical working group, will improve communication between Meta and government agencies. It will also set deadlines for responding to reports of harmful content. Meta will appoint…
Author: Marlet Salazar
Apple has introduced two new computer chips promising to handle demanding work and artificial intelligence tasks directly on a Mac. The M6 powers the new Mac mini, while the more powerful M5 Ultra is used in the new Mac Studio. Apple said both chips improve processing speed, graphics performance, and AI computing while keeping power use efficient. The M6 is Apple’s first chip built using a 2-nanometer process. This allows Apple to fit more components into a smaller space, which can improve speed and energy efficiency. It has a 12-core central processing unit, or CPU, which handles most computing tasks.…
Calls to restrict violent online games and minors’ social media use have gained renewed attention after the recent school shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla called for a nationwide ban on Roblox, claiming the game may have influenced the shooter and made children less sensitive to violence. However, the investigation has not established that Roblox caused or contributed to the attack. Authorities are still examining the shooter’s devices, online activity, and possible motive. Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Olaso also urged lawmakers to ban violent online games. In an ABS-CBN newscast, he described the shooter as a…
The Philippines has an opportunity to expand its use of 5G Standalone (5G SA), but stronger cooperation among the government, telecom companies, and technology providers will be needed to make the most of the technology. “The Philippines was an early 5G frontrunner in the region and that is something to be proud of,” said Daniel Ode, head of Singapore, Brunei & Philippines at Ericsson. “Since then, several neighboring markets in the region have accelerated ahead, but with ecosystem partnerships there is a big opportunity for the Philippines to quickly move and capture the full value of 5G SA.” 5G Standalone…
“Kaka-computer” (always on the computer) has become a familiar phrase in many Filipino households. It is what parents often say when they catch their children spending too much time in front of a screen. For today’s digital-native generation, however, life without gadgets or computers is almost impossible to imagine. Technology is often seen as the culprit when students become distracted or spend too much time online. But some schools are trying a different approach. Instead of treating gadgets as a distraction, they are finding ways to turn them into learning tools that encourage creativity, teamwork, communication, and critical thinking. One…
Apple is bringing Apple Pay to the Philippines, entering a market where digital payments accounted for 57.4% of all retail payment transactions in 2024, up from 52.8% a year earlier, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. “The Philippines is among the most digitally savvy markets in Southeast Asia,” Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, told PhilSTAR Tech in a virtual interview. She said the country’s young, mobile-first consumers and growing contactless payment infrastructure made it the right time to introduce Apple Pay. The Philippines becomes Apple’s latest Apple Pay market in Southeast Asia, joining Singapore,…
Organizations are under pressure to strengthen data protection while keeping technology investments cost-effective as security threats and compliance requirements become more complex, according to Synology. According to Synology, businesses need infrastructure that not only stores data but also protects it against a range of risks. Organizations are looking for solutions that combine security, scalability, and efficiency rather than treating them as separate priorities. “We actually do that through some of our solutions in terms of scalable storage, not just storage, but also secure servers and ways for you to protect your data,” said Claire Huang, country manager for the Philippines…
Women in the Philippines are using Google’s Gemini AI assistant more than men, making the country the only one in Southeast Asia where female users outnumber male users on the platform, according to Google’s first Gemini Report: Southeast Asia 2026. The report looked at how people in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam use Gemini. While the AI assistant is popular with both men and women in the Philippines, Google found that Filipino women generate more prompts than men, a trend not seen in the other countries covered in the study. Google did not explain why Filipino women…
Meta has removed a new Instagram AI feature just days after introducing it, following criticism that it could be used to create fake images of people without their permission, according to a report by Reuters. The tool allows users to generate AI images by tagging public Instagram accounts as references. While Meta said the feature was designed to help people create images more easily, privacy advocates and creators warned that it could be abused to make deepfakes, impersonate individuals, or misuse someone’s likeness. After the criticism, Meta pulled the feature, just after its launch on Tuesday. The change affects only…
Businesses in the Philippines are quickly adopting artificial intelligence (AI), but many are not doing enough to protect themselves from the security risks that come with it. More companies are using AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini to help employees work faster and improve productivity. However, experts say many organizations have not yet put the right safeguards in place to prevent sensitive company information from being exposed or misused. “Everyone’s talking about it, everyone’s curious to know more about AI, so the adoption is really happening as we speak,” Bernadette Nacario, country director for the Philippines, Palo Alto Networks,…
