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House Deputy Majority Leader and Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre says the regulation of social media content requires a delicate balance between oversight and the preservation of freedom of expression.

Acidre expressed this sentiment in a press briefing on Wednesday, May 15, following recent calls to establish a regulatory body tasked with overseeing and evaluating social media content.

“I think it is a very delicate balancing act of ensuring regulation and the freedom of expression and the freedom of information,” he said.

Rather than direct regulation that may impede these vital rights, the lawmaker says Congress should focus first on ensuring that proper safeguards are in place.

He suggested implementing measures such as age restrictions for social media users to mitigate potential risks associated with online interactions.

Recently, the Kapisanan ng Social Media Broadcasters ng Pilipinas Inc. (KSMBPI) urged Congress to craft a law establishing a "national social media regulatory board" to oversee and evaluate social media content.

The KSMBPI said it already penned a letter to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, and urged his office to draft an interim executive order for the creation of such a board until formal legislation is enacted.

The group issued this call following its filing of complaints against certain social media personalities for the alleged publication of libelous content. This includes the deepfake video of President Marcos supposedly ordering the military to act against a foreign country.

These online actions supposedly violate Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), which pertains to “the unlawful utterances or unlawful use of publication”.

In a similar vein, Acidre stressed the importance of verification processes to combat cybercrimes and cyber libel.

“In most cases, cybercrime, cyber libel or any of these, they thrive because of anonymity, kasi hindi sila kilala (because they are not known),” he pointed out.

“Kailangan din natin papanagutin (We also need to hold them accountable), there are already existing laws in relation to cyber libel. I think it's good to enforce the law especially in instances when the pronouncements made are already bordering on what the law prohibits,” he added.

The lawmaker said that while freedom of expression is a fundamental right, it is not absolute.

“Kasi sa totoo lang (Because in truth), the fact that some people can speak freely or express their opinions freely on social media is an indicator that there is freedom of expression in the country,” he said. “But that freedom is not absolute, and we have enough laws.”

Davao Oriental 2nd district Rep. Cheeno Miguel Almario says Congress may look into the importance of verifying information authenticity.

He referenced the SIM Card Registration Act as a potential model for addressing this issue, and suggested that similar measures could be implemented to identify individuals disseminating information on social media.

However, he acknowledged that this regulation must remain anchored with the people’s constitutional rights.

“We cannot discount the freedom of information that is a constitutional right of any Filipino person,” Almario said.

The congressman assured the public that any potential regulatory measures would be thoroughly researched and heard in the House of Representatives.