“Goodbye, trolls!”

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon assured that the proposed SIM Card Registration Act will strengthen the fight against online trolls and cyber libel once it is enacted into law.

The Senate and the House of Representatives earlier approved the SIM Card Registratin Act before they went on election break. It is now up for President Duterte’s signature.

Drilon had introduced a provision in the bill that requires all social media account providers to require the real name and phone number of users upon creation of an account.

“It is our little contribution to fight the anonymity that provides the environment for trolls and other malicious attacks to thrive in the age of social media,” Drilon said in a statement.

“This new provision will prevent anyone from making anonymous accounts online so they could attack anyone endlessly and viciously,” added the minority leader.

The bill imposes a penalty of imprisonment of no less than six (6) years, or a fine of up to P200,000.00, or both, to anyone who uses a fictitious identity to purchase and register a SIM card or social media account.

Under the bill all existing SIM card subscribers with active services shall register with their respective public telecommunications entity (PTEs) within one 180 days from the effectivity of the Act.

Failure to register within the prescribed period shall authorize the PTEs to automatically deactivate or retire the SIM card number and registration, Drilon warned.

But the bill allows an extension period of no longer than 120 days upon a valid written request to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

“I hope this signals the end of the troll era that infected and caused further division in our country,” Drilon said.

Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, and sponsor of the measure, lauded Drilon for introducing this social media provision in the measure.

“I would like to thank in particular Senator Franklin Drilon, our minority leader, who added the social media provision on this and I think everybody will benefit because there will still be accountability and transparency and, at the same time, privacy will be protected,” Poe said.