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| Gen Alpha whiz Sam Elora and Robo-Berto star in PLDT Home's Be Internet Awesome series (Image Source: MyCebu.ph/PLDT Home) |
Following its partnership announcement to further strengthen efforts in educating Filipino kids and families about internet safety and digital responsibility, the Philippines’ leading home broadband and digital service provider PLDT Home and Google joined forces in creating a kid-oriented video series online. Now available on PLDT Home's official YouTube channel, the Be Internet Awesome online series combines animation and live action — featuring Gen Alpha whiz Sam Elora and his trusty friend Robo-berto in fun-filled yet enlightening adventures on how to be smart, alert, strong, kind, and brave online. The series is based on the values of Google’s Be Internet Awesome global program and is directed by Manny Angeles, an award-winning director and producer of kid-oriented and animated shows.
Available in both English and Filipino in the Philippines, Be Internet Awesome aims to teach children the fundamentals of leading a digital life which includes what kind of information to post on social media and how to deal with cyberbullying among others. This is part of the many efforts of Google to help keep people safe online. “Our children are true digital natives. They grew up with the internet and everything the digital world has to offer. But as they broaden their horizons for discovery and learning, it also exposes them to risks and dangers. Through this original series, we at PLDT Home want to translate the teachings from Google’s Be Internet Awesome program into an entertaining and practical show that children can enjoy watching while learning about online safety early on,” said PLDT Senior Vice President and Head of Consumer Business Home Group Jeremiah de la Cruz.
“PLDT Home’s partnership with Google for Be Internet Awesome aligns with our larger group-wide commitment: to strengthen customer-centricity. At PLDT, we not only find ways to simplify technology and experience for our customers, but we also strive to do business responsibly by putting their safety and well-being at the forefront of all our products and services,” said PLDT and Smart Communications President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alfredo S. Panlilio. In 2021, PLDT also invested over P2 billion in cybersecurity and protection filtering. The country’s largest integrated telco has since been very active in detecting, responding, and preventing both domain and content-level access to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) within the network. PLDT’s Child Protection Platform has blocked almost 300,000 URLs linked CSAM by the end of May and prevented more than a billion attempts to access these illegal sites from November 2021 to May 2022.
“After launching Be Internet Awesome in 2021 in the Philippines, we are glad to have found a like-minded partner in PLDT who champions the same values when it comes to protecting kids online. Through PLDT and more potential partners in the future, we hope to scale Be Internet Awesome and provide more families with a practical way of teaching digital safety and wellness to their children so they can become responsible, confident explorers of the online world,” said Google Philippines Country Director Bernadette Nacario.
