Bacolod lone district Rep. Albee Benitez hopes that Congress will soon start deliberating on a bill that seeks to protect the public against online harassment by requiring digital platforms to act swiftly on reported cases of harassment.
During a recent interview on Abante Radio, Benitez, the author of House Bill No. 5750 or the “Emman bill,” said that his proposal focuses more on the role and responsibility of social media platforms on online harassment.
“Minsan kasi hinahayaan na lang nila ‘di ba para magkaroon ng maraming traction, yung mga post, yung mga comments, pinababayaan na lang nila na kung anu-ano na lang ang ipo-post doon na hindi naman nila naiisip ay nakakasama na sa ibang tao. So lalagyan po natin ng mga regulations sa mga social media na hindi nila pwedeng basta payagan na magkaroon ng mga ganun klaseng comments,” said Benitez.
The Emman bill seeks to penalize cyberlibel, online hate speech, and harassment, including expressions inciting hatred or discrimination based on one’s gender or sexuality.
The Emman bill seeks to penalize cyberlibel, online hate speech, and harassment, including expressions inciting hatred or discrimination based on one’s gender or sexuality, cyberstalking, and the non-consensual sharing of private information. Public officials and employees are not included in the protections proposed by the bill.
Under Benitez’s bill, digital platforms would be required to promptly remove or disable content that qualifies as cyberbullying or online harassment; suspend or ban of users found to have engaged in prohibited acts; designate trained flaggers for content monitoring; report transparently on removal requests and actions taken; and create mechanisms for users to report abuse and seek redress. Social media platforms would also be required to preserve data for their possible use as evidence in court.
During his interview, the lawmaker also raised the possibility of using the national ID as basis for registering social media accounts to prevent the creation of fake accounts.
“Marami kasing nagtatago dahil anonymous sila hindi sila makilala so pwede nilang sabihin kung ano ang gusto nilang sabihin. So isa na rin na dapat natin ayusin ay itong mga social media platforms. Kung maggagawa ka ng account, kung magre-register ka sa mga social media platforms dapat kilala ka,” he said.
“Meron na po tayong almost 96 million registered individuals sa ating ID system ayun dapat ang basehan kung sino sino talaga ang pwedeng magbukas ng account. Marami kasi ngayon fake ang binibigay, fake na ID, fake na information ‘di ba. So dapat yung mga social media ang batayan dapat nasa legitimate na information source para matukoy natin talaga na totoo, legit yung mga magbubukas ng mga social media account,” added Benitez.
