MANILA, Philippines — Internet freedom and ICT rights advocacy group Democracy.Net.PH on Wednesday urged President Rodrigo Duterte through a written petition to veto the SIM Card Registration Act, saying it has flawed and unclear provisions that violate freedom and privacy.
The veto petition against the SIM card registration act, delivered by hand to Malacañang, was signed by more than 61,000 individuals and groups.
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If passed into law, the measure will require all consumers buying new SIM cards to register their personal information with telecommunications providers, which lawmakers believe will help stem the rise in online crimes such text scams, bank fraud, the spread of "fake news" and hate speech, among others.
The measure also cracks down on citizens who use "fictitious identities" to register for social media accounts, saying that violators will have to pay a fine of up to P200,000, face jail time of more than six years or both- a provision Democracy.Net.PH has questioned in the past.
"We respectfully urge Your Excellency to veto the recently enrolled bill," Democracy.Net.PH Director for Rights Carlos Nazareno told Duterte in a letter obtained by Philstar.com.
"The bill is overly vague. It fails to provide a legal definition of 'social media'...The bill treats as crimes certain actions, such as 'trolling', 'hate speech', and 'spread of digital disinformation or fake news', despite there being no basis to penalize these under existing Philippine penal laws," he added.
"Social media" is not included in the bill's definition of terms.
'Anonymity will be a crime'
Nazareno said the bill basically criminalizes anonymity and pseudonymity on the internet, which would not bode well for activists, human rights defenders, victims of violence and abuse, investigative journalists and whistleblowers.
"Even the leaders who shaped our nation’s identity made use of fictitious names to freely express themselves," he said, referring to national heroes who used pen names.
Some of these figures include Jose Rizal (Laong Laan, Dimasalang), Antonio Luna (Taga-Ilog), Marcelo H. del Pilar (Plaridel), Andres Bonifacio (Agapito Bagumbayan), Emilio Jacinto (Dimas-Ilaw, Pingkian) and many others.
"Had our heroes [been] alive today, the SIM card registration bill would be branding them as criminals," Nazareno said.
The bill is seen to jeopardize the security of Filipinos since the measure orders corporations such as social media providers — which may not be based in the Philippines — to collect real names and private phone numbers of netizens, according to Democracy.Net.PH member.
Right now, giving private information to social media platforms is typically optional.
Nazareno added that the bill raises the question of possible data breaches of information from individuals who have given their information to social media providers, saying that well-funded companies like Yahoo! and Facebook were not immune to breaches and data leaks.
"Should these reoccur and citizens’ names and phone numbers leak, it will open them to harassment, identity theft, financial crime, and other forms of harm," he said.
Threats to child safety
The petition also mentioned that the sim card registration bill, if enacted into law, poses a "dire threat to children's safety."
"Forcing children to register with their real names on social media like in online games or communities may expose the real names of minors to complete strangers on the Internet, opening them to harassment, doxing, scams, kidnapping, and even child sexual predators," Nazareno said.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has a different take on the bill.
Drilon, who introduced anti-troll provision in the bill, said it will help create a safe space for social media users, especially kids who are victims of cyberbullying and harrassment.
"Online bullies hide behind anonymity. Trolls thrive in anonymity. Ask the parents of the kids bullied online before you oppose the measure. All we want here is to address the anonymity in the internet and social media and make a safe cyberspace for our people," he said in a statement on February 7.
The final version of the sim card registration bill was approved during a bicameral conference held on February 2.
A bill submitted to the president's office lapses into law after thirty days upon receipt. Duterte can exercise veto powers over a bill, sign the measure, or allow it to lapse into law.
At present, there are no details yet on whether the SIM card registration bill has already been transmitted to the office of the president, according to Democracy.Net.PH.
Telcos support bill
Three telco companies — Smart Communications, Globe Telecom and DITO Telecommunity — earlier expressed their support for the sim card registration bill, which will require them to store all of their consumers' personal information in a sim card data database.
DITO Chief Technology Officer Rodolfo Santiago earlier told Philstar.com in an interview that the "objective of the law is good" as it will protect people from criminals using telecom services.
Before buying and activating a sim card, consumers will need to first fill up electronic registration forms with their personal information, which may include full names, birth dates, addresses and pictures of their valid government IDs, according to the Act.
Santiago, however, said that telco providers must not be compelled to know the personal details of their subscribers, aside from the government IDs. That way, if the SIM card database gets hacked, perpetrators cannot trace the details collected to an individual.
Quezon City-based non-profit Foundation for Media Alternatives earlier urged Duterte to veto the measure, saying that it "poses a serious threat to human rights, particularly on the right to privacy and free expression."