Philippine authorities just got more teeth against computer-related offenses such as hacking, child pornography, and even online libel, after President Aquino signed the Cybercrime Prevention law.
Defense lawyers have used the absence of a law to argue against punishing hackers and bloggers who attack the reputations of others. Turning frequent acts on the Internet into crimes is expected to make potential violators think before they click.
But at least one lawmaker has already warned that the law is a potential threat to Internet freedom and can be used to silence criticism on the web.
Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino said he opposed the inclusion of online libel as one of the punishable acts, decrying the law as “a step backward in our long-term aim of decriminalizing libel.”
Palatino cited Senator Tito Sotto’s recent statement that the new law may be used to penalize those who have attacked him online. Sotto has been castigated on social media and blogs for a series of speeches that copied from the blogs and speeches of others.
“Under this law, politicians can easily file charges against ‘hostile and combative’ critics and witnesses by claiming that virtual protesters have threatened their life and property. Censorship will lead to repression once an activist or reform advocate has been labeled a cybercriminal,” Palatino said.
He added that complaints of online libel will distract law enforcers from stopping the more serious crimes of cyber porn, hacking, and credit card fraud.
“Woe to the National Bureau of Investigation agent and the Department of Justice prosecutor who will be swamped with cybercrime cases filed by showbiz actors, politicians, business tycoons, and other untouchables who want to punish their online critics. Instead of dealing with cyberwarfare, our agents will be investigating online libel,” Palatino said.
“The inclusion of cyberthreat and cyberdefamation in the list of dangerous cybercrimes would fundamentally affect and alter the implementation of the law,” he added.
Spamming also banned
- Illegal access to a computer system
- Illegal interception of data
- Data interference, including intentional alteration or damaging of data
- System interference, including damaging or altering computer data or programs as well as the use of viruses
- Misuse of devices
- Use, production, sale, procurement, importation, distribution or making available without right of malware, passwords or codes
- Cybersquatting
- Computer-related forgery
- Computer-related fraud
- Computer-related identity theft
- Cybersex
- Child pornography
- Unsolicited commercial communication