A trending topic circulating around Juan's cyberspace lately is the implementation of the Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Facebook alone is flooded by status messages voicing out their concerns and people 'black'-ing out their profile pictures as a sign of protest against the said act. It makes me wonder how many of these netizens have actually read the entire act before joining the protest band wagon. Wipe that silly grin off your face and read it HERE.There have already been six petitions filed against the Cybercrime Prevention Act which basically revolve around it being unconstitutional due to vagueness of some of the sections (specifically sections 4, 5 and 6) and how it curtails the constitutional rights to due process, speech, expression, free press and academic freedom.
The two main concerns regarding the Cybercrime Act are provisions that (a) allow authorities to collect data from personal user accounts on social media and listen in on voice/video applications, such as Skype, without a warrant and (b) libel which can possibly land you behind bars even if you just re-tweet or comment on an online update or blog post.
Being a casual netizen myself, I understand where all these hostilities come from. But I sincerely believe that the intention behind the act is for the protection of the Filipino people. So from one netizen to another, let me try and discuss a few pros and cons as well as some arguments regarding this matter from a casual internet user's point of view.
PROS:
- Remember those pesky hackers who invade our personal and business emails, changing our passwords, stealing important data, etc? Well, now we can finally sue their asses.
- Have you ever had those 'posers' in your social networking accounts? Instead of just ranting about it 'til kingdom come you can now throw them and their insecurities in jail.
- Are you a kid, or a parent of a kid, who's a victim of cyber bullies? Guess what, payback's a bitch.
- Have you seen those poor lil' kids on the telly who are victims of child pornography/cyber sex? Finally, we can hang the perpetrators by the balls and serve them on a nice cold dish of justice.
- How about those annoying text message scams trying to con you of your money? Yep, jail time for you buddy.
- Say goodbye to tweeting that lying-cheating-piece-of-crap Girome Medio an "ASSHOLE! DIE IN HELL! #anticybercrimeact! Or else prepare to face a libel suit.
- Fond of sending naked videos or pictures of yourself to your Amerikano boyfriend? Careful, you can be punished with imprisonment of prision mayor or a fine of at least Two hundred thousand pesos (PhP200,000.00) but not exceeding One million pesos (PhPl,000,000.00) or both.
- No more torrent and file-sharing.
Looking at the list above, do you think it's just a little bit selfish that you're protesting against the act just because it prevents you from ranting online? I'm not a hardcore internet geek, just a casual user as most of the people are in this country, and from updating my Facebook page, my photography website, blogging, and checking my emails, I really don't have any other need of the internet other than these. And if you ask me, I do appreciate the security the government is trying to establish with this Cybercrime Act.
With the internet's capability to spread anything in cyberspace in just milliseconds, I believe that the penalty imposed to anyone posting a libelous comment online, be it on Facebook, Twitter or anywhere else, (which is a maximum prison sentence of 12 years and a fine of one million pesos ($24,000) as compared to the penalty imposed to newspaper editors and other trained professionals working in traditional media (who can only be imprisoned for just four years and fined 6,000 pesos for defamation), is just fair. Besides, who still reads the newspaper? Ninety-percent of the country gets their news either from their mobile phones or their computers.
Contrary to the protesting beliefs, the Cybercrime Act is just an overdue extension of the government's duty to safeguard and protect its people. Comparing it to Martial Law is just childish and absurd. While Martial Law takes that lollipop away from you, the Cybercrime Act merely watches over you so that you're not gonna poke anyone in the eye with that lollipop stick.
I am not on anyone's side here. I understand the concerns being debated regarding this law but I also have faith that the RA 10175 is the much awaited step needed for a developing IT country such as ours. Try putting yourselves on the shoes of those who have been victims of Cybercrimes and imagine their renewed hope as they see a glimpse of justice through the Act.
I understand that the RA 101 75 might still have a few dinks here and there, but instead of trying to go against the entire act itself, why not give it a try and together we can polish out those rough edges and help it improve. What are we to lose, one or two of those rants and mumbles on Facebook? Personally, I think we all deserve a rest from those. Seriously, who really wants to know how Luzviminda "Hates that fcukng whore @Apolonia! XoXo"?
Unless you're that someone who intends to commit those offenses, you really don't have much reason to complain about. But for those who do intend to break the rules, a little jail time does boost a hacker's reputation so it's still a WIN-WIN situation.
Finally, for those who remains skeptical about all these, just rest assured that we are still in the Philippines and last time I checked policies don't really get implemented around here. And if you still think that I'm talking shit, well then, sue me.
Sponsored by:Contrary to the protesting beliefs, the Cybercrime Act is just an overdue extension of the government's duty to safeguard and protect its people. Comparing it to Martial Law is just childish and absurd. While Martial Law takes that lollipop away from you, the Cybercrime Act merely watches over you so that you're not gonna poke anyone in the eye with that lollipop stick.
I am not on anyone's side here. I understand the concerns being debated regarding this law but I also have faith that the RA 10175 is the much awaited step needed for a developing IT country such as ours. Try putting yourselves on the shoes of those who have been victims of Cybercrimes and imagine their renewed hope as they see a glimpse of justice through the Act.
I understand that the RA 101 75 might still have a few dinks here and there, but instead of trying to go against the entire act itself, why not give it a try and together we can polish out those rough edges and help it improve. What are we to lose, one or two of those rants and mumbles on Facebook? Personally, I think we all deserve a rest from those. Seriously, who really wants to know how Luzviminda "Hates that fcukng whore @Apolonia! XoXo"?
Unless you're that someone who intends to commit those offenses, you really don't have much reason to complain about. But for those who do intend to break the rules, a little jail time does boost a hacker's reputation so it's still a WIN-WIN situation.
Finally, for those who remains skeptical about all these, just rest assured that we are still in the Philippines and last time I checked policies don't really get implemented around here. And if you still think that I'm talking shit, well then, sue me.
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