The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has clarified why Tumblr and other legitimate websites were suddenly blocked in the Philippines. The agency said the blackout was caused by a system error during its campaign against illegal online gambling.
According to CICC, its Site Blocking and Monitoring Dashboard mistakenly flagged 18 domains as linked to gambling operations. These were then sent to the National Telecommunications Commission and internet service providers, which led to the temporary nationwide block.
The issue came from gaps in the system’s whitelist. While the whitelist already covers licensed gambling sites and major platforms, some hosting services and registries were not included. This caused legitimate sites like Tumblr to be caught in the process.
CICC said access to the affected websites is now being restored. The agency also promised new safeguards, including expanding the whitelist, adding manual checks alongside AI filters, and improving internal review procedures.
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In a statement, the agency stressed that its goal is to stop illegal gambling while protecting legal online platforms.
