Online scammers could take advantage of the loopholes that may be created due to some provisions of the Senate Bill No. 2699, or the Konektadong Pinoy Act, an advocacy group said on Monday, Sept. 16.

Bantay Konsyumer, Kalsada, Kuryente (BK3) convenor Karry Sison said provisions to lessen the regulatory and oversight functions of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) could be abused by digital scammers.

“Limiting or removing the oversight functions of the National Telecommunications Commission would close the door for consumers to bring up their grievances against inefficiency of foreign service providers,” the statement of the group said.

The Senate bill was aimed at improving the access to fast and affordable connectivity nationwide.

One of the provisions is to remove the requirement for legislative franchise for new telco players and also encourages sharing of infrastructure among telecom companies, and overseeing the allocation and use of radio spectrums.

Sison said that before allowing the new telco players to bypass rigid and exacting trade requirements, the government must first ensure that there would be no cybercriminals and scammers that could adversely affect the consumers’ interest.

“Before it should be allowed, the government must first ensure that cybercriminals would be unable to access the internet since this would threaten the consumers and the businesses and even the security of the country,” said Sison.

“The proposal to decrease regulation could lead to more problems than solutions,” she added.