Sotto, Revilla want to combat fake news

MANILA, Philippines — Senators pressed anew for the passage of a bill seeking to criminalize the spread of fake news which, they warned, is not only destroying reputations, but is also emerging as a threat to the country’s stability and public welfare.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Sen. Bong Revilla filed separate bills seeking to combat fake news by giving the government the authority to take down false content in websites and penalize those responsible for posting them.

“Fake news does not only destroy reputations of people, but also institutions. We know what’s fake news and what’s not, so why should we tolerate them?” he said.

He cited a Social Weather Stations survey conducted during the fourth quarter of 2017 and first quarter of 2018, which showed that 67 percent of Filipino internet users say there is a serious problem with fake news on the internet.

“Filipinos have fallen prey to believing most of the click-baits, made up quotes attributed to prominent figures and digitally altered photos. This bill seeks to protect the public from the adverse effects of false and deceiving content online,” Sotto said in a separate statement.

Both bills grant the Office of Cybercrime of the Department of Justice the authority to issue rectification orders, takedown orders and block-access orders. They also task the Cybercrime Division of the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to enforce the Act.

Sotto said he could also include the Department of Information and Communications Technology in his measure.

Revilla, who is expected to chair the Senate committee on public information and mass media, said, “It is high time we establish a system of responsibility and accountability in new media.”

He added, “The proliferation and spreading of fake news is a threat not only to political stability, but more importantly, to public and general welfare and national security.”

Under Sotto’s proposed measure, any person found guilty of knowingly creating or publishing false information to mislead the public and using a fictitious online account or website in creating or publishing false information to mislead the public shall face imprisonment, fines or both.