Senator moves to penalize Facebook, others for fake news

Seeking to stop the proliferation of fake news online, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan wants to penalize Facebook and other social media platforms for allowing such misinformation to be propagated online. 

“More than being an online platform, Facebook may be described as a de facto media company or publisher that should be responsible and accountable for the content it distributes and allows to be distributed, in order to protect the national discourse from fabricated and false news,” Pangilinan said. 

Senate probe in aid of legislation

Pangilinan filed Senate Resolution 271 seeking a Senate probe, in aid of legislation, with the end in view of determining whether there is a need to amend Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.

Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party, said the “level and quality of public discourse have suffered” because of such fake news stories that are often used by “several political operatives to influence public opinion and national discourse.”

Pangilinan noted that the Philippines had 59.2 million Internet users in 2016, and 22 million of those were actively engaged on Facebook during the May national elections.  

Stopping the 'propagation of falsehoods, security threats'

“There is a need to look at the systems that protect the freedoms accorded to all Filipinos by our Constitution, especially where those freedoms are being undermined by a surge in social media abuse through the propagation of falsehoods, defamation, character assassination, and national security threats,” Pangilinan said. 

“It is therefore in the interest of the State to protect the integrity of cyberspace so that it will become a tool for development, and not a tool for sowing dissent and virulent tribalism,” he added. 

A similar resolution was also filed by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who called for a Senate investigation into the proliferation of fake and misleading reports, saying authors and “social media trolls” should be held accountable under the law. — TJD, GMA News