Reuters
Philippines tells tech giants to halt sales of ‘text blast’ kit after election plug
The Philippines has ordered tech giants Facebook, Alibaba Lazada and Sea’s Shopee to stop allowing sales of cellular equipment used for emergency messaging, after “text blasts” were used to promote a presidential election candidate. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered the platforms to appear before the agency on Oct. 27 to explain why they should not be held liable for allowing sales of the equipment. The NTC’s order, made public on Tuesday, follows an investigation it ordered last week into an “emergency alert” text blast, typically used during natural disasters, that contained message of support for one of the presidential candidates.