Phone scammer's claims confirms need for fake-news law – Sotto

Senate President Vicente Sotto III claimed on Friday that a blogger's admission that he attacked personalities on social media for money attested to the need for a law against fake news.

"Maraming tao ang nabibiktima ng maling balita o impormasyon,” said Sotto in a text message. "Ano ang proteksyon natin sa mga paid hacks? Paano matatanggal ang maling impormasyon?”

Dennis Borbon, who identified himself as an anti-Duterte blogger, claimed that former Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino's chief of staff paid him between P20,000 to P40,000 a month for the adverse online posts against President Rodrigo Duterte's candidates.

He also linked former Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano to the online smear campaign.

"N'ung election, lumapit sa akin 'yung chief of staff ni Bam Aquino at pinapatira yung mga kandidato ng administrasyon noong nakaraang eleksyon... Nagde-deposito sila ng 20k to 40k. Iba pa nga po yung galing kay Congressman Gary Alejano,” said Borbon.

Aquino and Alejano denied Borbon's allegations, with both also refusing to dignify the claims.

Borbon was one of the three suspects arrested by the Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) in Malabon City for allegedly posing as Camarines Sur 4th District Representative Arnulf Fuentebella, and extorting money from Senator Bong Go and Cavite Vice Governor Jolo Revilla.

Under Sotto’s bill, also known as An Act Prohibiting the Publication and Proliferation of False Content on the Philippine Internet, individuals who are found guilty of knowingly creating or publishing false information to mislead the public will be slapped with a penalty of imprisonment or a fine of not more than P300,000 or both.

Those who will be found guilty of using a fictitious online account or website in creating and or publishing false information to mislead the public may face imprisonment or a fine of not more than P500,000 or both.

A person who knowingly offered or provided his or her expertise to create or publish a content containing information to deceive the public, even if it is done for profit or not, will be detained or be fined of P200,000 or both.

An individual who finances an activity which seeks to create or publish online sites containing false information would also be put to jail or slapped with a fine not exceeding P1,000,000 or both.

Anyone who fails to comply with the government’s order to take down content containing the false information, issue necessary corrections to the published content containing false information or block users’ access to its websites and social media platforms would face jail time or a fine of P2,000,000 or both.

But Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the government to reject the bill as its broadness threatened to stifle discussions on websites worldwide.

HRW Asia legal advisor Linda Lakhdhir warned that the bill would make a government department the arbiter of permissible online material. — DVM, GMA News