Philippine Cybercrime Law

[Call me bubba]

Keep your forum name an alias.

Ok.Been there done that,

if they don't like something you wrote about them you will be punished by the law ..... another ploy in keeping the masses dummied up .

So very true, i've read in the past when some one/person has made a comment about those powers to be, that they FILE a Lawsuit so they can silence them, if that doenst work,

the other silence is invoked

After reading some other news reports on this subject,

Some members of the congress,

Claimed that they were TOTALLY UNAWARE of the FULL contents of the law...

hummm. :wt-hell: an elected person voting on a law that they had not read or studied on??? (no further comments.. cough cough and more cough)

one name that keeps Popping up is Vic Sotto, that he had inserted some measure into this "law"

Vic Sotto is the1 who has a new word named after him.. "Sotto-copy"

[MikeB]

I have three Facebook contacts with backed out profile photos on my friends list. They all shared "Be Against Cyber Crime Law" photos from this facebook page (you need to be logged in). I can't see how this can be lawful? One of my friends sent me this LINK as a reference that may have gotten her in trouble, I don't know.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying. These people are doing this as a protest against the act.

"Many Facebook and Twitter users in the Philippines and the portals of the main media organizations have replaced their profile pictures with black screens as a protest against the law

Read more: http://www.foxnews.c.../#ixzz28DVnSW2O"

[MikeB]

I agree with this for things on your computer, but once you post on the Internet, that is public speech. You should be held to the same standard for comments made in a public forum online as you would for comments made in a public forum offline. What the article fails to mention is, what are the penalties for libel if done offline? If they are the same as for online comments, I don't see the big deal about this law.

The law doubles the penalty for online libel from 6 to 12 years.

http://technology.in...tough-cyber-law

[Mike S]

I don't see the big deal about this law.

The law s there so if someone doesn't like what you say about them even if true you can be prosecuted and as MikeB said up to 12 years .... now this doesn't mean everyone HAS to be prosecuted .... just those they want to .... it is funny that the senator who sponsored the bill and the clause added at the end was they very one who just lost face with his comments and quotes from other sources ...... I guess he won't have to worry about any of that any more as he can just have the people who speak out against him jailed ......

As to the senators not reading the bill .... no big deal that happens all over .... look at what some US senators passed with out reading just because it was sponsored by their party ..... besides they don't have to live with the stuff they sponsor as in the US where they are exempt from most of the crap they vote in ...... except of course pay raises ..... :mocking:

[Fred & Mimi]

These people are doing this as a protest against the act.

Yeah I'm in the loop now silly me. My friend didn't explain very well. Can anyone suggest a good product to remove egg from my face :bonk:

[MikeB]

I don't see the big deal about this law.

The law s there so if someone doesn't like what you say about them even if true you can be prosecuted and as MikeB said up to 12 years .... now this doesn't mean everyone HAS to be prosecuted .... just those they want to .... it is funny that the senator who sponsored the bill and the clause added at the end was they very one who just lost face with his comments and quotes from other sources ...... I guess he won't have to worry about any of that any more as he can just have the people who speak out against him jailed ......

As to the senators not reading the bill .... no big deal that happens all over .... look at what some US senators passed with out reading just because it was sponsored by their party ..... besides they don't have to live with the stuff they sponsor as in the US where they are exempt from most of the crap they vote in ...... except of course pay raises ..... :mocking:

I never said that lol!

[ibemarshall]

I was listening to BBC World News eariler this morning (California time) and they had a this issue as one of the leading news topics...not to flattering of a report I might add...

[Call me bubba]

After reading some other news reports on this subject, Some members of the congress,

Claimed that they were TOTALLY UNAWARE of the FULL contents of the law... hummm. :wt-hell: an elected person voting on a law that they had not read or studied on???

(no further comments.. cough cough and more cough)

MANILA, Philippines - Despite being among the 13 senators who approved Senator Edgardo Angara's anti-cybercrime bill,

Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Wednesday disavowed knowing about the libel clause in the new law.

Marcos wrote in his facebook account that he was "away on official business" when the libel rider was introducted and approved on second reading in January 24, 2012.

Senate records credit Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III as behind the Internet libel rider in Republic Act No. 10175 may send an erring Internet user to prison for up to 17 years.

Sotto has denied inserting the libel clause and said he only "suggested" that it be included in the legislation.

(for more of the article circuc/clowns here is the link)

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/03/12/marcos-joins-other-senators-disowning-cybercrime-libel

[Mike S]

Well it looks like the latest info from the local TV news reports is that they may look into revamping the so-called cybercrime law ...... they really stirred the pot with that one .....

Now a bunch of celebrities and government officials are claiming they were CYBER-BULLIED ...... how can you bully someone on the internet ..... all you have to do is choose not to view their posts ...... much like here .... just another way to try and justify this new law ..... IMHO ....... what next ........ OL" WOOLY BULLY ...... :mocking: ..... :cheersty:

[Call me bubba]

here is another article.actually an opinion (commentary)

that dicuss the "cyber-law"

if the people who vote read this article,maybe some change would occur to improve their lives

interesting reading as it discuss the "double" jeopardy issue this new law causes

To all ye netizens out there, please do not forget the names of the honorable senators who had voted for the passage of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (or Republic Act 10175) in its present form,

whose most controversial measure is the newly-conjured crime of “cyber-libel” for which,

if you aren’t too careful, you could end up with a 12-year jail term or a P1-million fine, or both.

The re-electionist senators who voted for cyber- libel and who are now seeking your votes for the 2013 mid-term elections are: Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero , Sonny Trillanes

, Koko Pimintel and Gringo Honasan. They should be so lucky.

Please do not forget these names.

This new cyber-libel law puts the old libel law —as defined in the existing Revised Penal Code which was drafted way back in 1930 during the Commonwealth Era — to shame because the prescribed penalties for Internet defamation are much more severe.

Per Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, one who is convicted for violating the law through traditional print and broadcast media faces imprisonment of six months and one day to four years and two months;

but in the case of online libel, the penalty is a much harsher six years and one day to 12 years. Go figure.

Two senior senators who voted in favor of cyber- libel have sons running for Senate seats in 2013. They are Juan Ponce Enrile whose son Cagayan Rep.Jackie Ponce Enrile is with the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and Ed Angara whose son Aurora Rep. Sonny Angara is in the Liberal Party (LP) coalition ticket.

Another pro-cyber-libel senator is Manny Villar, who lost his bid for the presidency in 2010, whose wife Las Piñas Rep.Cynthia Villar is with the LP senatorial line-up.

Then there is Sen. Bong Revilla whose wife Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado, son Jolo Revilla and brother Cavite Gov. Strike Revilla are seeking various elective posts in 2013.

And finally, there is Sen. Jinggoy Estrada. His brother San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito is with the UNA slate, while his father Erap Estrada is seeking the Manila mayorship.

Ironically, Sen. Estrada was being praised in media circles for re-filing in 2007 a bill called the “Magna Carta for Journalists”

seeking to provide mediamen an atmosphere that would be conducive to the practice of their profession under the ambit of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution which guarantees certain political and civil rights —

among them freedom of speech and freedom of the press which are long considered the linchpins of a democracy that the Philippines professes to be.

Incidentally, the other senators who green-lighted the new cyber-libel law but aren’t running next year are

Tito Sotto, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Ping Lacson, Serge Osmeña, Frank Drilon, Joker Arroyo, Lito Lapid and Pia Cayetano.

Some of them may have relatives joining the 2013 polls. Oh, before I forget, Sen. Pia Cayetano’s brother Nacionalista Party Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano is a re-electionist aligned with the administration party.

Again, netizens and members of the Fourth Estate, don’t forget the names of these re-electionist senators associated with the approval of RA 10175 when election day 2013 comes round.

Remember their names, and then don’t vote for them. Reject their proxies as well.

Before I forget, special mention must be made of Sen. Sotto who admitted that he was responsible for the inclusion of the online libel provision during the bicameral conference committee phase, which many believe was done in retaliation for the “cyberbullying” he was subjected to by proponents of the Reproductive Health bill

wherein he was called a plagiarist for allegedly lifting portions of the blog of an Internet blogger during his privilege speech on the supposed dangers of artificial contraception but which he vehemently denies.

And also Sen. Angara, the principal author in the upper chamber of Senate Bill 2796,

for accepting hook, line and sinker Sotto’s insertion which was the bases for the approval of online libel as one of the punishable acts in the anti-cybercrime bill.

Kudos however are in order for Sen. TG Guingona who last week filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition and application for temporary restraining order with the Supreme Court to stop the implementation certain offending provisions of RA 10175 as being unconstitutional.

Among the important reasons cited by the Mindanao solon in opposing the new law is

that it runs counter to the 1987 Constitution’s provision against double jeopardy.

A person, he said, can now be prosecuted for libel under RPC and RA 10175.

Guingona said RA 10175 doesn’t make any distinction between those liable for prosecution. Adults or children may be sued for Tweeting criticisms against politicians, government officials, actors, actresses, etc.

Ditto for persons who comment on Facebook posts or re-tweet messages on Twitter.

Guingona insisted that the government cannot gag its own citizens, much less prosecute them for expressing their thoughts. He said the people should not be afraid of its own government, as in a dictatorship, and their voice “should not be shackled by fear and intimidation.”

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/commentary/item/5256-reject-%E2%80%98cyber-libel%E2%80%99-senators-congressmen-in-2013