Senators, law enforcers at a loss over lack of laws vs cybersex

Without a legal definition in the statute books, senators and law enforcers are at a loss as to how to attack the burgeoning problem of online pornography or cybersex.

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Reynaldo Wycoco yesterday informed members of the Senate committees on public order and illegal drugs and public information and mass media that existing laws do not provide a clear definition of the term "pornography."

During the first Senate hearing on the issue of cybersex, Wycoco said neither Republic Act 9802 nor RA 201 defines "pornography," let alone the paid sex services carried out on the Internet.

Wycoco stressed the need for a concrete definition of terms before government law enforcers can pin down cybersex-for-pay operators and private individuals who ply the trade over the information superhighway.

NBI special agent Dalmer Mallari said there is a need to address the culpability of Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunication companies for the rising incidence of online smut coming from the Philippines.

During a hearing at the Senate, opposition Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile suggested terminating the franchises of telecommunications companies that fail to regulate what sites their subscribers use on their Internet connection facilities or in operating Internet cafes.

Lawyer and NBI Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division (AFCCD) chief Efren Meneses Jr. said the term "cybersex" is not appropriate when referring to the proliferation of nude photos and live sex scenes for a fee on the Internet.

Meneses said it is difficult to prove in court that there is actual "physical contact" between the "actors and performers" of such pornography.

While it is possible that the "clients" and online sex workers may meet and engage in actual paid sexual acts after meeting online, such activity cannot easily be proven in court.

Because of this, Meneses said the term "Internet pornography" is a better term to use when referring to paid cybersex because there is no actual physical contact during such online activity.

Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., chairman of the committee on public order and illegal drugs, said there was a "thin line" separating censorship from each Filipino’s constitutionally-protected right to freedom of expression. He said this issue would need to addressed in determining what portions of existing laws on pornography, child abuse and e-commerce should be amended.

"We will really have a hard time addressing cybersex, although we believe that there is a need to focus on organized (Internet pornography) operations, especially those which use children," Villar said in Filipino. "That’s all we will keep watch over (because) we have to be careful also on the issue of censorship and press freedom."