A technical working group (TWG) of the House committee on information and communications technology (ICT) is fine-tuning a measure meant to protect mobile or cellular phone subscribers and electronic mail (e-mail) users from unsolicited digital communications, in line with Congress’ efforts to build on consumer protection on cyberspace, according to panel chairman Rep. Migz Villafuerte.
Villafuerte said this TWG is consolidating four House Bills (HBs) that similarly propose the “No Call, No Text, No E-Mail Registration Act,” to shield cell phone subscribers and e-mail users against the onslaught of unsolicited digital or online communications that intrude upon, disturb and disrupt their activities, from entities that induce the purchase of goods or services and solicitations.
He said the TWG was assigned this task during a recent panel meeting, in which the committee also agreed to come up with a consolidated bill to combine 13 bills proposing a framework for cybersecurity and two bills on critical information infrastructure protection (CIIP).
The former Camarines Sur governor said that, “The House ICT committee wants the TWG to work on a consolidated bill that would protect consumers from unsolicited calls and texts, give them the freedom to choose their transactions, and guarantee their right to be left alone.”
Villafuerte said the TWG has been directed to draw up a substitute bill from four pending bills on this proposal, namely, HB 485, HB 797, HB 1342 and HB 1687.
HB 485 was authored by Rep. Roman Romulo, while HB 797, HB 1342 and HB 1687 were authored, respectively, by Reps. Tobias Tiangco, Lordan Suan and Keith Micah Tan.
HB 485’s author—Romulo—said this measure aims to “prevent unwanted calls and texts that intrude, disturb and disrupt the activity of any individual and require a more responsible and accountable business practice. The freedom of the business-oriented person or entities to promote and sell its goods and services ends where the freedom of individuals to privacy is exercised.”
“This TWG is consolidating four House bills that similarly propose the ‘No Call, No Text, No E-Mail Registration Act,’ to shield cellphone subscribers and e-mail users against the onslaught of unsolicited digital or online communications.”
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) shall, under the proposed bill, establish “No Calls, No Text Messages, and No Electronic Mails” registries; provided that the identity and privacy of the persons registered shall be kept highly confidential such that only the cell phone numbers and the electronic mail addresses may be accessed from the registry.
Any person shall register first with the NTC before they can access the phone numbers and electronic mail addresses in the registries.
To protect and promote the right of consumers to privacy and protect them from unwanted calls, text messages, and electronic mails inducing the purchase of goods or services and solicitations, HB 485 proposes a “Negative Option” feature that shall enable persons to stop receiving any call, text message, or electronic mail from a caller and/or sender.
A person whose number is not registered in the registries may manage and limit outbound and unsolicited calls, text messaging or electronic mails through this negative option feature, as proposed by HB 485.
Under this bill, any caller or sender shall set up a negative option that shall be available to the recipient immediately upon answering the call or at the beginning of the text message or electronic mail after providing the required information.
Any prohibited call, text message, and/or electronic mail refers to a hoax, junk, and/or scam call, text message, and/or electronic mail.
HB 485 states, for instance, that such prohibited calls, texts or emails shall cover:
• Messages congratulating the recipient for winning any prize in a promo or award of the prize when the recipient did not join or subscribe to any game or activity of chance;
• Messages supposedly coming from a relative abroad asking the recipient to reload their “new” roaming number;
• Messages requiring the recipient to register by texting his or her name and other personal details to specific cell phone numbers; and
• Any similar calls, text messages and/or emails.
Any person found to be in violation of the provisions of this Act shall be imposed penalties—without prejudice to civil or criminal liability, or administrative sanctions that may be imposed by the NTC on offenders.
Violators face a cash fine of not less than P50,000 but not more than P100,000 per violation.
Under the bill, any person shall only be allowed to register up to three (3) cell phone numbers regardless of the network provider; provided that the registration of cellphone numbers of persons below 18 years of age may be done by their parents or legal guardians.
It provides that outbound and unsolicited calls, text messages, and/or emails may be managed or limited by any celfone or email user by registering in the NTC’s “No Calls, No Text Messages, and No Electronic Mails” registries.
Upon selection of the negative option feature, the caller or sender shall not make any further steps to persuade the recipient and immediately stop making any call or sending any texts or electronic mails to the recipient.
The recipient shall report and register the name and the number of the person, company or organization that made the call or sent the message to the registries to make the caller or sender liable for violation of this Act for any subsequent calls, text messages or electronic mails.
The use of an automatic dialer or any electronic device that automatically or randomly contacts phone numbers is prohibited. Any person, company, organization, or association who uses the same shall be held liable.
This measure shall not apply to calls, text messages, or e-mails made in order to remind, collect, or update the recipients of their existing bills or credit dues, subject to applicable laws and pertinent rules and regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
This Villafuerte-chaired ICT committee earlier approved a consolidated bill mandating all internet Service Providers (ISPs) to adopt a roll-over data allocation scheme enabling their prepaid and postpaid subscribers alike to still use or carry over their remaining or unused data to the next billing cycle or until such loads are consumed.
The proposed “Roll-Over Internet Act,”—a measure that consolidated three HBs that similarly seek to end the data or load caps enforced by ISPs on their subscribers—was unanimously approved, subject to style, during the organizational meeting of this committee.
“As approved by our committee, once this bill becomes a law, both the prepaid and postpaid subscribers of all ISPs or telcos (telecommunications companies) will be able to use the remaining data of their mobile data packages even after such expire in one or several days or in a month, depending on their respective subscription plans,” Villafuerte said.
“This means goodbye to the currently unfair, anti-consumer practice of telcos to have their subscribers, whether with prepaid or postpaid data packages, forfeit their unused data when their particular subscriptions end after a day, three days, a week, 15 days or one month,” he added.
As moved by Camarines Sur Rep. Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata and seconded by Northern Samar Rep. Niko Raul Daza, the ICT panel unanimously approved HB No. 87 in consolidation with HB 650 and HB 708.
A similar bill requiring ISPs to adopt a roll-over data scheme was passed by the House of Representatives in the 18th Congress after the measure was refined by a TWG co-chaired by former Negros Occidental Rep. Francisco Benitez and then-Cavite Rep. and now Bacoor Mayor Strike Revilla.
However, the Senate had no counterpart bill, which was the reason why this House-passed bill did not become a law.
