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| (L-R) HOOQ Philippines country manager Sheila Paul, Asian Video Industry Association (AVIA) policy and research director Claire Bloomfield, iWant head Elaine Uy-Casipit, Netflix Asia-Pacific public policy manager Alex Long and iflix Philippines country manager Sherwin Dela Cruz (Image Source: Facebook/ABS-CBN PR) |
ABS-CBN Corporation's iWant, the premiere online streaming service made
by Filipinos for Filipinos, is now reinforcing its commitment to keep its library
of original series and films authentic and free from various forms of
inappropriate content such as hate speech, hate crimes and pornography after
becoming the first homegrown streaming platform in the Philippines to sign the
ASEAN Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD) Industry Content Code joining Netflix,
HOOQ, iflix and other homegrown online streaming hubs from Southeast Asian
countries such as Malaysia's Astro and dimsum as well as Thailand's DOONEE.
The Content Code, developed in 2017 and officially released in June
2018, is a self-regulatory framework that aims to ensure the commitment of
online streaming services in the ASEAN region to uphold the interests of their users
by providing content that does not infringe copyright and promote pornography, violence,
terrorism and hate crimes. It also aims to protect minors from accessing age-inappropriate
and sensitive content, empower users and their families to choose video content
that suit their needs, interests, passions and values and serve to distinguish
streaming services from piracy sites.
The Code was signed on August 28, 2019 by iWant Head Elaine Uy-Casipit
and Louis Boswell, chief executive officer of the Asia Video Industry
Association (AVIA) which is the trade association for the video industry and
ecosystem in the Asia Pacific region. The occasion was witnessed by AVIA policy
and research director Claire Bloomfield, Netflix public policy manager for Asia
Pacific Alex Long, iflix Philippines country manager Sherwin Dela Cruz, and
HOOQ Philippines country manager Shiela Paul and content and programming director
Jeff Remigio.
Since its relaunch and rebranding in November 2018, iWant has set
itself apart from other streaming services in the Philippines and changed the
landscape of Filipino entertainment and digital content by producing its own
line of original movies and shows which are released monthly. Sporting the biggest
homegrown video content library in the Philippines, iWant now has almost four
million app downloads and more than 13 million subscribers. By joining the
fight against inappropriate content after signing the ASEAN SVOD Industry
Content Code, iWant assures that its Filipino users will be able to enjoy not
just high-quality entertainment but also socially responsible content that matches
their own preferences.
