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PARA kay Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, napapanahon nang rebisahin ang batas na may kinalaman sa social media na aniya’y nagsisilbing entablado ng fake news peddlers.
Sa pagpapatuloy ng pagdinig ng House Tri-Committee, ginisa ni Acop si Dr. Rafael Frankel, director for Public Policy for Southeast Asia ng Meta (dating Facebook) kung saan iginiit ang pananagutan ng social media operators.
“The posting of false information and misleading news, the content that harms not only the subjects of the questionable post but also the public trust in state institutions, should not be tolerated, would you agree with that?” tanong ni Acop kay Frankel.
“Could I say that you recognize that Meta bears some responsibility for what is shared and posted in Facebook or Instagram? Yes or no? It is a very simple question.” dagdag pa niya.
Tumangging sumagot ng diretsong “yes” o “no” si Frankel.
Ayon kay Frankel, ang pananagutan sa pagpapakalat ng fake news ay nasa taong nag-post. Sinisikap umano ng Meta na balansehin ang karapatan sa malayang pagpapahayag at ang pangangailangan na magkaroon sa isang ligtas at responsableng digital space.
“Mr. Chairman, I think Mr. Frankel is evading the answer to my question,” tugon naman ni Acop.
“Any Tom, Dick and Harry will say that it is answerable by yes or no,” dagdag niya.
Batay sa mga tinuran ni Frankel, sinabi ni Acop na tila ipinapasa ng Meta ang buong responsibilidad sa user ng kanilang platform sa anumang nai-post nito.
“It seems from our discussion that social media platforms are making some efforts to curb the spread of fake news in this country. However, I disagree with the impression that acting merely as hosts of user-generated content exempts these platforms from any liability for the harmful content they allow to be exhibited,” anang Antipolo City solon.
“As part of our legislative duties, I think it may be time to revisit the current legal framework regarding these social media platforms if only to incentivize them to further crack down on these types of illegal posts,” dagdag ng mambabatas.
Sinilip din ni Acop ang kawalan ng malinaw at lokal na kinatawan ng Meta sa bansa.
“And I hope the Meta people will agree with that. As we have heard, Facebook Philippines does not control the platform, nor does it handle content regulation and policy enforcement. This makes it difficult for Filipinos to seek timely and effective recourse when harm occurs online,” giit niya.
“That is why we are exploring the idea of requiring accreditation or registration for social media platforms operating in this country to ensure that there is a readily accessible responsible point of contact that understands and complies with our laws,” sambit pa ng kongresista.
Samantala, ipinaliwanag naman ng ilang legal experts na may umiiral na mga batas para sa mapanirang content online, kabilang na ang batas sa libelo at ang Anti-Cybercrime Law. (ROMEO ALLAN BUTUYAN II)
