The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is seeking to add more teeth in its plan to conduct “search and destroy” operations against social media troll farms, which it said, produce fake news and AI-generated contents being used to deceive the public.

While there is already an existing cybercrime law that allows law enforcers to run after scammers and cybercriminals, NBI director Melvin Matibag said it is not enough to pursue organized troll farm operations.

“We’re always hearing about troll farms but we have no legal basis or legal cover to go after them.  We are probably proposing a bill that will enact into law the monitoring of these because this is not specified in the law,” said Matibag.

The statement came amid growing concern over the use of fake accounts, coordinated social media behavior and artificial intelligence to spread false or misleading content, especially during highly charged political controversies.

There were also persistent reports that some politicians and even companies are using troll farms for their gains at the expense of twisting the truth and even sowing hate and coordinated attacks against persons and groups.

Matibag said the NBI already takes down fake accounts through coordination with Meta, but a clearer law would help authorities deal with troll farm networks that operate beyond individual fake profiles.

“We already took down fake accounts. We just stopped reporting it but we’re doing it on a day-to-day basis. We have coordination already with Meta and they’re very supportive,” said Matibag.

He said the NBI removed more than 2,000 fake accounts since he assumed office, with some of the people behind them already facing charges or still under investigation.

Matibag said current enforcement is clearer when fake accounts are tied to offenses already covered by the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, including financial scams and love scams that evolved from collapsed POGO-linked operations.

But he said troll operations are different because they often involve coordinated behavior designed to make one source or narrative appear organic, credible and widely accepted.

The problem, he said, worsens when coordinated falsehoods are picked up by real users and begin spreading through legitimate accounts.

Matibag said the bureau is also acquiring tools to strengthen its ability to detect and fight such operations, “We are in the process of procuring tools to combat this.”

Asked about AI-generated videos and images that make it appear as if a real person made a statement or appeared in a scene, Matibag said this would also form part of the NBI’s proposal to Congress.

“That’s the onepart of our proposal to Congress that should be regulated because it somehow also violates your privacy from my point of view, " said Matibag, adding that AI content using a person’s likeness raises privacy concerns regardless of whether the portrayal is flattering or damaging.

The NBI chief said the bureau intends to engage lawmakers on how legislation can address the misuse of AI, fake accounts and organized online deception without leaving enforcement agencies to operate on uncertain legal ground.