Philippine Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan filed cyber libel cases against YouTube channels STARLET and LATEST CHIKA and implicates Google Philippines Country Manager Bernadette Nacario as a respondent in a series of complaints forwarded to the Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier today.
In his complaint affidavits – filed as a violation of RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 – the senator pointed out the online publication of libelous videos which he finds defamatory against him and his family: a video posted by STARLET titled “Kiko Pangilinan, Nagmakaawa kay Sharon Cuneta na huwag ituloy ang Kasong isinampa sa kanya...” and another one uploaded by LATEST CHIKA entitled “JUST IN! Sharon Cuneta Dinemanda ang Asawa nitong si Kiko Pangilinan.”
In naming the Google Philippines Country Manager as a respondent, the senator cited Section 20(b) – Extent of Liability of a Service Provider – and Section 30(j) – Duties of a Service Provider – of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 10175.
According to the senator, the search engine and YouTube owner should have ensured that cyber libel was not being committed on the platform. It should have removed the defamatory videos. He also added that as Country Manager, Nacario should ensure Google Philippines employees remove defamatory videos that go against YouTube’s community guidelines.
This is a developing story.