Veto of SIM registration bill big win for trolls, fake news –Drilon

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Saturday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte's veto of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card Registration bill, claiming it is a move in favor of trolls and fake news.

“By vetoing this bill, the President lets trolls thrive, spread lies and hate, and fuel discord and division,” Drilon said in a statement.

“Political trolling as we’ve seen these days is a thriving business. This veto is a big win for troll farms,” Drilon added. 

Moreover, he said “the veto is meant to protect trolls,” describing it as Duterte’s parting gift to allow the trolling industry to flourish.

On Friday, Malacañang announced that President Duterte vetoed the SIM Card Registration Act as the measure needs further study because it included social media providers in the registration requirement, which was not part of the original version of the bill. 

Likewise, Duterte believes that the bill may give rise to a situation of dangerous state intrusion and surveillance, threatening many constitutionally protected rights.

House Deputy Speaker Wes Gatchalian said the provision in question was a last-minute insertion by Drilon, saying that “the registration of social media providers is totally not in line with the essence of this bill.” 

Muntinlupa Representative Ruffy Biazon expressed frustration over the veto of the bill “because of a rider inserted by the bicam.”

“The sim card registration bill veto highlights the need to put clarity in the rules of the bicameral conference [committee] that it should only reconcile differences between Senate and House versions of a bill and not introduce new provisions,” Biazon said in a Twitter post.

No last-minute insertion

But Drilon argued that he “authored this particular provision of the measure in order to address the anonymity in the internet and the social media that allowed an environment for troll accounts and fake news.”

“It’s not a last-minute insertion. We studied it and introduced it in the Senate plenary as part of our humble contribution in the fight against trolls and fake news. Twenty-two senators voted in favor of the measure on third reading last December. The House of Representatives adopted our version with little modification,” Drilon said.

The proposed measure mandates all public telecommunications entities to require the registration of SIM cards as a prerequisite to their sale and activation. This aims to curb fraud and other crimes aided by SIM cards.

Drilon emphasized that “as long as the anonymity in the social media exists, political trolling, troll armies and fake news will continue to succeed in sowing discord and division among the Filipino people.”

He cited as an example of the works of trolls the attack against Vice president Leni Robredo's eldest daughter Aika who is the latest victim of disinformation and harassment by online trolls and troll armies.

“She is only one of the thousands of victims of trolls and fake news. Some of them are children who may bear the scars of bullying and trolling for life. The bill could have helped in preventing trolls and fake news,” Drilon said.

Further, Drilon said that the claim in the veto message that the measure could affect individual privacy and free speech is unfounded.

In fact, he said, Section 9 of the bill provides for the confidentiality clause mandating that “any information obtained in the registration process described under this Act cannot be disclosed to any person.”

The disclosure may only be done in compliance with any law obligating the PTE or public telecommunications entity or social media provider to disclose such information in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act. No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012; in compliance with a court order, legal process, or other government regulatory, or enforceable administrative request for information; in compliance with Section 10 of the bill; or with the written consent of the subscriber, Drilon added. 

Veto welcome 

Several lawmakers, including presidential candidate Senator Panfilo Lacson agreed with the presidential veto of the SIM Card Registration Act.

“Mandating social media registration could be violative of the ‘one subject one title rule’ as defined under the 1987 Constitution, not to mention the absence of safeguards or guidelines in the said provision not even covered by the title of the measure itself,” Lacson said.

“That being said, my version of the bill simply calls for the mandatory registration of all the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards with the service providers as being practiced in other jurisdictions,” Lacson added.

Likewise, House Deputy Minority leader and Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate welcomed the veto of the the mandatory  SIM card bill, which the Makabayan Bloc in Congress vigorously voted against as it "gravely runs afoul with the Filipino people's constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy and free expression."

"When we voted 'NO' to this bill while still in Congress, we already pointed out that it would give the government easy access to the people's SIM card and acquire all the data on the subscriber that the telecommunications company may give," Zarate said.

Zarate added the vetoed bill is also an added burden to subscribers since they will be compelled to undergo a tedious process of registering their SIM cards and numbers.

Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe said the veto “highlights the need for ongoing efforts, both public and private, to find effective ways to protect our citizens and our democracy.”

Poe, however, said that “each day without the safeguards from the measure makes our people vulnerable to rip-offs that take away their money and cause them anxiety; the onslaught of cybercrimes and fake news that tear away the fabric of our democracy.”

“Our laws and jurisprudence confirm that freedom of expression is not absolute, as in the cases of obscenity, libel or when public safety and order are at stake,” she said, adding that the bill upholds the Supreme Court ruling in Chavez vs. Gonzales (2008) where “only a substantial governmental interest is required for its validity… because regulations of this type are not designed to suppress any particular message, they are not subject to the strictest form of judicial scrutiny but an intermediate approach.”

Poe said that the SIM Card Registration bill passes the test of constitutionality based on such criteria.

Nevertheless, she said that “we count on Congress to act in a timely manner in reconsidering the bill for approval in accordance with the legislative process.”

“We shall remain firm and committed in our pursuit to end electronic and mobile phone-aided criminal activities and guarantee a safer and more secure mobile phone and cyberspace use in the country,” she added. —LBG, GMA News