By Hannah Torregoza
Senate President Vicente Sotto III has sought passage of a measure that seeks to counteract the spread of false information through online and other social media platforms.
Sen. Vicente Sotto III (Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN)
Sotto’s Senate Bill No. 9 or the proposed “Anti-Fake News” bill, primarily seeks to eliminate the spread of fake news in websites and other online sites by holding persons who maliciously create or spread fake news through the Internet criminally liable.
The bill, otherwise known as “An Act Prohibiting the Publication and Proliferation of False Content on the Philippine Internet, Providing Measures to Counteract its Effects and Prescribing Penalties Therefor,” imposes penalties of up to P2-million or imprisonment for violators.
Sotto, in filing the measure, said it is high-time the Senate intensify the call for the responsible use of the Internet.
“Filipinos have fallen prey to believing most of the click-baits, made up quotes attributed to prominent figures and digitally altered photos. This bill seeks to protect the public from the adverse effects of false and deceiving content online,” Sotto said.
“It also seeks to promote responsible use of the Internet,” he stressed.
Under the proposed law, any person who would be found guilty of knowingly creating or publishing false information to mislead the public shall be punished with imprisonment and/or a fine of not more than P300,000 or both.
The measure also raises the penalty to P500,000 plus imprisonment for persons found guilty of using a fictitious online account or website in creating and or publishing false information to mislead the public.
Once the bill is passed into law, the Department of Justice (DOJ)-Office of Cybercrime shall have the authority to issue the rectification order, takedown order or block access order. The Cybercrime Division of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) meanwhile, will be tasked with enforcing the provisions of the Act.
Under the bill, any person who deliberately offered or provided his or her expertise to create or publish a content containing information to deceive the public, whether it is done for profit or not, shall be imprisoned and/or slapped with a fine of P200,000 or both.
The bill also seeks to impose a P1-million and/or imprisonment to any person found financing an online activity that publishes false information.
Any person who fails to comply with the government’s order to take down the content containing false information, issue necessary corrections to the published content containing false information or block users’ access to its websites and social media platforms face imprisonment and/or a P2-million fine or both.
Once the bill is passed into law, the Department of Justice (DOJ)-Office of Cybercrime division shall have the authority to issue the rectification order, takedown order or block access order.
Both the Cybercrime Division of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) would also be tasked with enforcing the provisions of the measure once it becomes a law.