Cybercrime Law in the Philippines review

RA 10175 or Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 has been the hot topic this week specially for the netizens and press people as it will significantly create impact on our freedom of speech and some aspects of the constitution.

Davao City rally vs Cybercrime law

Imagine if you just tweet, re-tweet or post any issue related to government or any person posting with defamation on Facebook or Twitter and you will be prisoned for at most 12 years in return. This of course is a total failure of Philippine justice.

Cybercrime Law was signed by President Aquino on September 12, 2012 and agreed by the House of Representatives. Among the senators that pushed the law were Pia Cayetano, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, Francis Escudero, Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, Loren Legarda, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Aquilino Pimentel III, Ralph Recto, Ramon Revilla Jr., Vicente Sotto III and Manuel Villar.

Under the new law which was already effective October 3, 2012, the government will have a power to monitor and shutdown private internet properties, criminalizes computer crime and impose rules related to online activities.

Among the cybercrime offenses included in the bill are cybersquatting, cybersex, child pornography, identity theft, illegal access to data and libel.

The new law received mixed reactions upon its enactment especially on the grounds of freedom of expression, freedom of speech and data security. Several petitions are currently submitted to the Supreme Court of the Philippines questioning the constitutionality of the Act.

Being a blogger and certified netizen, I am strongly disagree with the cybercrime law being imposed today. TheSummitExpress still believe that socia media and online medium is a mark of our freedom.

For the information of all, United Nations declared Internet freedom  a basic human right July 8, 2012.  The U.N. Human Rights Council passed a resolution that “affirms that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular freedom of expression, which is applicable regardless of frontiers and through any media of one’s choice.”






 



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