Normally, I wouldn't openly comment or talk about current events because I feel like I am in no way, shape or form an authority in the matter. I do have my opinion and oppositions against some political views, but instead of blogging about them, I often save them for random political rants over dinner. However, right now, there is an issue that I just can't keep quiet about.
The past couple of weeks, I've seen some posts opposing the legislation of the "Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012" but because I knew very little of Philippine politics & current events, I paid very little attention to it. It wasn't until a couple of days ago when I finally realized and had a better understanding of what the heck was going on! Last September 12 marked the day we quite possibly have lost a very vital right--our freedom of speech. Here are the highlights of this newly signed law if you aren't up to speed:
The New Law Was Passed 13-1
The senate voted to pass this law, 13-1 with Senator TG Guingona being the only one voting against it.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
Originally, it was meant to ban cybersex, child pornography, identity & password theft, illegal access, piracy via file sharing and computer forgery. Undeniably, these are things that the government should monitor and do something about. The problem, however, lies in the controversial and very problematic inclusion of libel (written defamation of character).
Some might wonder what's so wrong about this inclusion. After all, in the advent of relentless cyber-bullying, where many are too careless about what is said and written online, maybe this inclusion is warranted. Maybe it is. However, the problem is in how this law defines libel. Here is a snippet from Andrew James Masigan's article, You Just Lost your Freedom of Speech:
"To us, this means we can no longer speak our minds and make our voices heard on the only platform accessible to us—the Internet. It means we can no longer “like” a comment deemed libelous, re-tweet a link of what could be construed as defamatory material, or even e-mail articles that some people may consider slanderous. All these are now counted as crimes…crimes that may cost us a jail term of six to 12 years. (Note that the law on cyber libel calls for a punishment “one-step higher” than ordinary libel, where jail terms could range from only six to 50 months.)
"In addition, one can be criminally liable even if the libelous material was written outside the Philippines. For as long as it affects a natural or judicial person who is in the country, that writer can be thrown into jail.
"So in one fell swoop, the government gagged the public from expressing its criticisms, discontent and outrage. It choked the free trade of ideas, which allows us all to fiscalize the truth on our own. It limits the flow of information to only what is force-fed to us by government. Even worse, it frees incompetent and corrupt politicians from public censure, which we often do through the Internet.
"In short, the Cybercrime Prevention Act holds a libel case over the head of every Filipino, preventing him from expressing what’s on his mind."
Still don't understand why many are opposing this new law?
You see, the law uses the Revised Penal Code's definition of libel--which states that a person who "publish, exhibit or cause the publication or exhibition of any defamation" can and will be held liable for libel. It can be interpreted and misconstrued such that if a potentially libelous comment comment was published on a blog, the blogger may be held liable; if you repost or "share" something supposedly libelous, you can be held responsible and the list of ridiculous possible interpretation goes on.
IMPLEMENTATION
According to Philippine Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, the law, which was signed by President Noynoy Aquino, will be implemented by the Department of Justice starting October 2, 2012 (Manila Time) unless declared unconsitutional by the Supreme Court or amended by Congress.
MY POSITION
Do I think we need this law? Yes, definitely. I believe that there should be a certain degree of accountability and responsibility on our (the public's) end as far as what we say or do online. However, I feel that there is a lot they need to amend, define and throughly discuss--and not just amongst themselves, but also with the public. The Philippines is a democratic country after all.
“ . . We only ask that freedom be returned, we ask for nothing more but we will accept nothing less.” -Ninoy Aquino
Sources and Further Reading:
We have to be careful on what we publish on our blogs now. Hahahaha!
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