Fast facts about the Cybercrime Prevention Law

The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA 10175) were released yesterday, August 12, providing a more specific guide on how to implement and follow the different provisions of the Act.

 

Some groups have protested against the signing into law of RA 10175, saying that it stifles the freedom of speech of citizens online. There have also been concerns about the implementation of antiquated libel laws.

 

Some fast facts about RA 10175 that you should know:

 

It took government agencies three years to finalize the IRR. RA 10175 was signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III back in 2012, but its constitutionality was challenged, preventing it from being implemented. However, the Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality in early 2014, more than a year ago. It was only on 12 August that the implementing rules and regulations were released.

 

The Act doesn’t apply to things posted before it was ruled constitutional. According to Supreme Court (SC) spokesperson Theodore Te, online content posted before the SC ruling on constitutionality aren’t covered by the law. This is because there was a temporary restraining order in place. Provisions rules unconstitutional by the SC were:

 

 

The Act creates a new inter-agency body for policy coordination. The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) will be under the administrative supervision of the Office of the President and will oversee coordination between concerned government agencies to implement cybersecurity. The chairperson will be the Executive Director of the the Information and Communications Technology Office under the Department of Science and Technology (ICTO-DOST) and the vice chairperson will be the director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Members will come from private sector and academe representatives, plus the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the head of the Department of Justice Office of Cybercrime.

 

The Act adds to the penalties found in the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009. One of the offenses covered by RA 10175 is child pornography, as defined under the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 (RA 9775). According to Sec. 8 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act, “Any person found guilty of any of the punishable acts enumerated in Section 4(c)(2),” which refers to child pornography, will be punished following RA 9775. However, the punishment will be one step higher since it was committed using a computer system.

 

The Act makes a distinction between subscriber information and traffic data. According to the Act, subscriber’s information is information that can be used to find out who the subscriber is. This includes addresses, telephone and cellphone numbers, and billing information. On the other hand, traffic data (or “non-content data”) refers to information like where the digital communication came from, where it’s going, what time it was sent, and so on. It doesn’t have anything to do with the content of the message.

 

The full text for the Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA 10175) can be found here. For the implementing rules and regulations, click this link. — TJD, GMA News