President Rodrigo R. Duterte has vetoed a bill to mandate registration of all Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards and social media accounts in the Philippines, less than a month before the a presidential election in the Philippines that critics say has been undermined by misinformation. campaigns.
In a statement on Friday, Presidential Spokesman Jose Ruperto Martin A. Andanar said including social media companies in the registration requirement was not part of the original version of the bill and “required further study”.
“The President also found that certain aspects of state intrusion, or its regulation, were not properly defined, discussed, or debated in the enshrined bill, with respect to media registration. social,” he said.
Congress had approved the measure that would require SIM cards to be registered before activation in the Philippines, which has more than 120 million total mobile subscribers. It would also require social media users to register their legal identity and phone numbers when creating new accounts. Lawmakers had said the bill was intended to deter cybercrime and online trolling.
However, critics said the bill could be used to undermine the privacy and fundamental freedoms of Filipinos, who are among the most gullible to fake news according to research by global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.
Mr. Andanar said that while Mr. Duterte praises congressional efforts to combat the growing incidence of cybercrime and information and communication technology (ICT) offences, he has been “forced to be disagree “with the inclusion of social media in the measure without providing proper guidelines and definitions” because it can give rise to a situation of dangerous state intrusion and surveillance threatening many constitutionally protected rights “.
He said it is the responsibility of the Office of the President to ensure that any law complies with the requirements of the Constitution, such as those guaranteeing privacy and freedom of expression.
“Notwithstanding that, we ask Congress not to lose heart in enacting effective and enhanced measures that provide our citizens with a safe and secure online environment, provided they withstand judicial scrutiny.”
Earlier this month, MetaPlatforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, Inc, suspended a network of more than 400 accounts, pages and groups ahead of the general election in the Philippines as it seeks to crack down on speech hate and misinformation.
Most accounts supported the Duterte administration and the presidential candidacy of the late dictator’s son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr.
The family of his main rival, Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo, was among the victims of online disinformation campaigns.
Posts containing links to an alleged sex video of his eldest daughter were circulating online, mostly among accounts supporting Mr Marcos’ candidacy.
Most cases of misinformation on social media platforms are directed at Ms Robredo, based on data collected by a fact-checking platform initiated by the University of the Philippines and other universities with the help of organizations local media.
“A lot of things came out before the May elections. Of the 200 people subject to fact-checking, based on our initial analysis, the majority of them are against presidential candidate Robredo,” said Yvonne T. Chua, a journalism professor at the University of the Philippines. , who is part of the group, during an earlier Senate hearing. This year.
The fact-checking platform said that in the case of Mr. Marcos, there were several false mentions of various sectors, including supposed celebrities and even heads of state.
He said historical inaccuracies regarding his father had also surfaced.
Last year, Facebook shut down 155 accounts, 11 pages, nine groups and six Instagram accounts originating in China with posts expressing strong support for Mr. Duterte’s leadership.
Kaspersky earlier said it had detected a “rare and large-scale advanced persistent threat” by a “Chinese-speaking threat actor” against users in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.
