Apps

Netflix and Spotify will be taxed by the Philippine government

As well as other ‘digital service providers’

Published

July 29, 2020

Rodneil Quiteles

Netflix and Spotify as well as other digital services you’re subscribed to might hike their prices following the latest move by the Philippine government.

The House Ways and Means Panel of the Philippine Congress has approved the bill that proposes the imposition of a 12% VAT (Value Added Tax) to companies, local and foreign, that engage in the exchange of goods and services for monetary value on digital platforms.

Netflix and Spotify were prominently mentioned but the bill will impose the 12% VAT on any digital service provider. It defines such as follows: “an entity which provides digital service or goods to a buyer through an online platform for purposes of buying and selling of goods or services or by making transactions for the provision of digital services on behalf of any person.”

This means most of your online subscriptions will likely be affected. Further expanding the definition, the following also fall under the “digital service provider” category:

third party that acts as a conduit for goods or services offered by a supplier to a buyer and receives commission therefore
platform provider for promotion that uses the internet to deliver marketing messages to attract buyers
host of online auctions conducted through the internet, where the seller sells the product or service to the person who bids the highest price
supplier of digital services to a buyer in exchange for a regular subscription fee over the usage of the said product or service
supplier of electronic and online services that can be delivered through an information technology infrastructure, such as the internet.

We’ve reached out to Netflix and Spotify inquiring how they will respond to this development. We have yet to receive a response as of writing.

Philippine debt climbing

The authors of the bill argue that this will level the playing field between local and foreign companies. The Philippines’ assistant secretary notes that the government could gain a PhP 10 Billion revenue from this measure.

This comes on the heels of another report noting that the Philippines’ debt has breached the PhP 9 Trillion mark. The borrowed funds have been earmarked for COVID-19 response.

However, there still has been no implementation of mass testing and proper contact tracing which have been proven to be effective in containing the spread of the virus. This, despite the Coronavirus cases in the country already breaching the 80,000 mark — well above the number in neighboring countries.

Source: GMA News

Related Topics:coronavirus Netflix Spotify

Apps

Netflix expands its cheaper ad-supported tier to Southeast Asia

This also includes more countries in Europe and South America.

Published

May 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

If you don’t care about seeing a deluge of ads on your platforms, you’re an incredibly rare breed these days. That same skill will come in handy for those nicely priced subscription tiers that comes with ads. Netflix, for one, has one of those tiers, and it’s now coming out in more countries.

As is prevalent in other platforms today, an ad-supported subscription tier lowers the price you have to pay every month. The catch, however, is that there will be an occasional sprinkling of ads here and there.

Netflix offers this service, which allows subscribers to get the service for cheap at the expense of their time. Currently, it is limited to only a few major markets in the world. However, the platform is expanding the tier’s reach to more countries in Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia.

Starting in 2027, Netflix’s ad-supported tier will expand to 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Thailand.

Netflix says that the ad-supported tier is a popular option for subscribers. Currently, the tier has around 250 million subscribers worldwide. Since some of the new countries have a more budget-conscious attitude when it comes to purchasing services, this number will likely go up after the expansion in 2027.

Apps

Google might limit free storage to only 5GB

The change will affect new users.

Published

May 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Google One is a monthly subscription that gives you at least 200GB of cloud storage for your files and photos. For most people, a Google One subscription starts when Google inevitably tells them that their free storage space is running out and will soon stop backing up files. Starting today, new users might get that warning sooner rather than later as Google tests a lower limit to free storage.

Historically, Google offers users 15GB of free storage as a start. However, especially these days, 15GB can run out rapidly, prompting a Google One upgrade. Still, despite how “little” it is, Google’s free storage is generous compared to its contemporaries.

Now, Google is reportedly going to be more at par with the rest. As spotted on Reddit (via 9to5Google), new users will receive only 5GB of free storage. Based on Wayback Machine, the company changed its policy sometime between February to March.

Notably, 15GB is still available as an option, but users have to link their phone numbers to their accounts first.

According to Google, the policy change is meant to encourage users to upgrade their security. However, critics will point out that it just enables the company to collect more data about their users. Of note, the platform is already pushy about linking phone numbers before the change, but this adds another layer to entice people.

Also, Google confirms that the new policy is only a regional test for now. They have not announced when (or if) the change comes out for real.

Apps

Instagram takes on Snapchat yet again with new Instants feature

Posts disappear after they’re viewed once.

Published

May 14, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The popularity of Snapchat’s competitors is as fleeting as their disappearing messages. However, despite how volatile the market is, Instagram wants to try again with a new feature (and app) called Instants.

Pardon me if you’ve heard this premise before. Instants is a feature that lets users share disappearing photos. However, unlike the 24 hours allotted for Stories, Instants will disappear right after a friend views them, but they can still react and reply to them.

The idea of Instants is to trim the excess fat from what Instagram is these days. Instagram’s Adam Mosseri admits as much when he said users want as easier way to shoot content.

As such, users won’t have access to Instagram’s editing tools. They also can’t upload pre-shot content from their camera roll. Like its contemporaries like BeReal, the new Instants feature is about living in the moment and sharing exactly what users see.

Despite disappearing after a single view, Instants will be automatically archived, so they can be reuploaded as normal Stories later on.

It isn’t the Wild West, though. Even if it pares down all the extra features, Instants will still use the safety features available to all of Instagram. Users, especially young ones, can mute and block others’ Instants. Likewise, parents will have control over when and how their young children interact with the feature.