A BILL has been filed at the House of Representatives seeking to criminalize the creation and distribution of nonconsensual sexually explicit material, including those generated through artificial intelligence (AI).
Under House Bill No. 807, or the proposed Take It Down Act of 2025, filed by Rep. Robert Nazal (PL, Bagong Henerasyon), a government-run system will be established that would see to the swift removal of such online contents.
The measure proposes a penalty of up to 12 years in prison, which may reach 20 years if the victim is a minor.
“To truly protect people from this new form of digital violence, we must act as swiftly and intelligently as the technology being abused,” Nazal said.
“The rise of AI tools has made it easier to create realistic deepfake images and videos. Criminals now use these tools to place a victim’s face onto pornographic content or generate fake nude images or videos to harass, extort, or humiliate,” he said.
Nazal said he filed HB 807 in response to the growing misuse of AI “to create fake nude images and pornographic content for harassment, extortion, or humiliation.”
He noted that the PNP has recorded an 18 percent rise in voyeurism cases in 2024, while the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)reported a 240 percent increase in deepfake “sextortion” complaints.
He also cited a 2022 study by the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Criminal Police Organization, and End Child Prostitution and Trafficking which found that one in five Filipino children aged 12 to 17 had experienced online sexual exploitation or abuse.
Nazal said current laws do not explicitly criminalize AI-generated sexual abuse “and offer no clear process for fast content removal, particularly when the perpetrators are overseas or platforms fail to act.”
He said his proposed measure will grant extraterritorial jurisdiction, allowing Filipino victims to pursue cases even if offenders are abroad.
The measure mandates the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to set up a portal for filing verified takedown requests.
It proposes a P50 million budget for the portal’s launch, and creates a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to review the measure’s implementation every three years.
It directs the DICT to process takedown requests within 24 hours, while social media platforms are required to remove flagged content within 48 hours or face fines of up to P1 million per incident.
“The tools for abuse have become smarter. Our laws must be smarter, faster and stronger,” Nazal said. “We owe it to our people — especially women and children — to fight this form of digital violence with the full force of the law.”
