SC: Online libel in cybercrime law constitutional
MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court en banc on Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of the controversial online libel provision in Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act
SC spokesman Theodore Te said in a televised press briefing that posts and statements made online can be deemed malicious or libelous and subject to penalties.
"The court also ruled on the constitutionality of online libel when it further declares that Sec 4 C4 which penalizes online and cyber-libel is not unconstitutional with the respect to the original author of the post," Te announced.
The magistrates, however, deemed that the measure's provisions penalizing those who participate in the libelous statement or message after it is posted violating Constitutional principles.
"[The law's online libel clause] is unconstitutional only when it penalizes those who simply receive the post or react to it," Te said.
The high court said that such penalties are the same as those under the libel clauses in the Revised Penal Code and not the stricter penalties as stated in the new measure.
Libel offenders may be imprisoned for "minimum and medium periods" or fined from P200 to P6,000 under the Revised Penal Code.
The court further upheld the anti-cybercrime law's penalties to those who aid and abet cyber offenses, namely:
- illegal access
- illegal inteception
- data interference
- system interference
- misuse of devices
- cyber squatting
- computer-related fraud
- computer-related identity theft
- cybersex
The high tribunal explained that penalties for child pornography are already stated elsewhere, and those in the anti-cybercrime law prohibit "double jeopardy."
Unconstitutional provisions
The high tribunal similarly struck down a few of the more contested clauses of the anti-cybercrime law.
"The court partially granted the reliefs sought in the 14 consolidated petitions challenging the constitutionality of Republic Act 10175," Te said.
The anti-cybercrime law provides penalties for sending and posting unsolicited commercial data or spamming and for monitoring of real-time traffic data.
It similarly grants the Department of Justice authority to restrict or block access to suspected computer data.
The Supreme Court said, however, that these clauses violate the Constitution when such activities may intrude upon privacy of individuals or corporations.
The recent ruling was in response to the petitions filed in 2012 within the months after President Benigno Aquino III signed it into law.
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