TikTok has revealed a massive cleanup on its platform—removing 21 million videos from the Philippines between April 2024 and May 2025 for violating community guidelines.
The disclosure was made by Peachy Paderna, TikTok Philippines’ public policy manager, during a Senate hearing on Thursday.
“From April 2024 to May 2025, we took down 21 million videos here in the Philippines alone,” Paderna said. “Of that 21 million, 99.7% was proactively removed.”
She explained that “proactively removed” means TikTok deleted the content even before users reported it, once its systems and moderators flagged violations.
Of those removed, 99.4% were taken down within 24 hours, highlighting the platform’s swift response. Many of these videos contained nudity, sexual material, abuse, and exploitation—all clear breaches of TikTok’s rules.
“Flagged videos are taken down right away—regardless of who reported it,” Paderna added.
Concerns Over AI-Related Crimes
Beyond TikTok’s removals, lawmakers also tackled the growing threat of AI-related crimes, with experts warning of major gaps in current laws.
Renato Paraiso, deputy executive director of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), admitted there’s still a “big void” when it comes to prosecuting AI-driven offenses.
“Even if perpetrators are prosecuted, the only crime I see being violated is identity theft,” Paraiso said.
He also raised alarms about AI-generated pornography, noting that some wrongly view it as a “victimless crime.”
Laws Struggling to Catch Up
While the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 covers offenses such as identity theft, cybersex, and child pornography, it does not specifically define crimes involving AI or deepfake content.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) reported 48 pornography-related cases, with 17 involving children. However, the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) admitted it has yet to receive official reports on AI or deepfake crimes.
Still, the PNP-ACG maintains a cyber patrolling unit to monitor online threats, while the DICT reported sharp increases in voyeurism cases—294 in 2023 and 362 in 2024, an 11% rise year-over-year. Alarmingly, 85% of victims were women.
Victims Fear Reporting
Officials acknowledged that many victims hesitate to report crimes due to fear, confusion, or lack of trust in the system.
“There seems to be a lack of reporting mechanisms. Victims are confused, scared to report, or afraid nothing will happen,” Paraiso said.
Authorities urged the public to reach out through the CICC National Anti-Scam hotline (1326) or call PNP’s 911 to report cyber-related crimes.
