Authors defend inclusion of online libel in cybercrime law

Authors of the newly signed anti-cybercrime law from the House of Representatives on Wednesday defended the inclusion of online libel as one of the punishable acts in the legislation. Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy, one of the authors of the House version of the law, said Internet users should learn to make sure that what they post online has basis and does not “denigrate” another person. “Bloggers and other Internet users do not only criticize government officials, pati private individuals, binabanatan din nila. It's okay to do this, as long as it’s not excessive, baseless and not meant to denigrate any individual,” Herrera-Dy said in a text message. “If journalists are duty-bound to heed libel law, why not others who also exercise freedom of expression?” she added. Last week, President Benigno Aquino III signed Republic Act (RA) 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act, into law. The legislation seeks to punish cybercriminals involved in hacking, child pornography, cybersquatting and identity theft. The new law included libel “committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future” as one of the “content-related” cybercrime offenses. (See full text of the law here.) Under Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, libel is defined as a “public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.” Online libel in Senate version Herrera-Dy further explained that the provision on online libel was only “inserted” in the Senate version of the anti-cybercrime act. The final version of the legislation used the wording of Senate Bill 2796 in enumerating content-related cybercrime offenses. House Bill 5808, the lower chamber’s version of the legislation, did not include online libel in prohibited acts, although it stated that “all crimes defined and penalized by the Revised Penal Code… shall be covered by the relevant provisions of this act.” Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, another author of the legislation, for his part said that RA 10175 “merely extends to the cyber realm or online world the principles we recognize in the printed or spoken world.” “You simply cannot defame a person without any basis or truth. If you do, there are consequences, as there are defenses, like good faith or it was done pursuant to a moral duty,” Angara said in a separate text message. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines earlier said that the inclusion of online libel in the new anti-cybercrime law may threaten freedom of expression in the country. — BM, GMA News