Cybercrime law: Demonizing technology.

BY SEN. TEOFISTO ‘TG’ GUINGONA III
September 26, 2012

I own a Facebook page where people are welcome to make comments, positive or negative. I also own a public Twitter account where my views are published for everyone to see.

If any of my own thoughts or the thoughts expressed by people on these accounts that I own happens to offend someone, I can now be charged for libel under the newly enacted Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Suddenly, I can be punished for expressing critical thought online or allowing my Facebook friends to do the same on my own page.

With this law, even Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of Facebook, can be charged with cyber-libel!

A Cybercrime Prevention Act is necessary, but must not be oppressive.

Republic Act 10175 is oppressive and dangerous. It demonizes the computer user and extends its tentacles to a computer user’s freedom of expression and speech. In an age when decriminalization of libel is the trend, this law makes a fatal step back, toward the vault of archaic policies that cannot be made to apply to the modern man operating in a modern world.

Let me just point out the fact that we need a Cybercrime Prevention Act. Except for certain problematic provisions, this law is necessary. That’s why it is unfortunate that the overly vague and oppressive provision on libel was inserted into the law at the last minute.

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