DICT: Suspects in cyber sedition face arrest

MANILA, Philippines - Information and Communications Technology Secretary Rodolfo Salalima yesterday said the government would arrest some individuals for posting on the Internet seditious materials in relation to the Marawi crisis.

“There will be arrests. Cyber sedition… We’re not going to name the persons. We are able to track about more than one last night,” Salalima said in a press briefing in Malacañang, amid his department (DICT)’s investigation on personalities who possibly uploaded videos showing alleged members of the Maute group.

“Remember, rebellion, sedition are crimes under the old penal code. You do sedition, you incite people via cyber or via internet, there is cyber rebellion. There is cyber sedition. But for rebellion, there must be a taking up of arms. So if it’s online, it could amount to cyber sedition,” he added. 

Salalima made the remarks after he was asked about his agency’s involvement in the military’s request to take down social network accounts spreading propaganda of the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

The DICT chief declined to say whether the persons to be arrested are Maute group members or sympathizers.

Sought for clarification, assistant secretary for cybersecurity Allan Cabanlong said details of the matter remain confidential, as the investigation is still ongoing.

He confirmed, however, that the probe includes personalities behind the release of the videos.

“Our immediate action is to take down the sites,” he added, referring to those that carried the videos, including one showing alleged terrorists smashing religious statues and burning St. Mary’s Cathedral in Marawi. 

Earlier, the military appealed to Facebook Philippines to take down 63 social network accounts of Maute militants and their supporters. 

Officials said the social network accounts disseminate extremist ideology and propaganda materials calling for violence against non-Muslims, whom the IS calls “infidels.”

The social media giant said it uses a combination of technology and human review to remove terrorist content and fake accounts from its platform as soon as they become aware of it.

“We have well-established law enforcement channels for governments to contact us about emergencies and content that violates our community standards,” the company said in a statement.

“Online extremism can only be tackled with strong partnerships. We have long collaborated with policymakers, civil society and others in the tech industry, and we are committed to continuing this important work together,” it added.