Revilla says Facebook must explain flagging of government social media posts
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 11:49 a.m., Apr. 27, 2022) — Facebook must explain reports of social media posts by government agencies and officials, Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., chair of the Senate committee on public information, said as he called the incidents a form of censorship,
Revilla has sent a letter to Facebook over the reported incidents.
"Facebook has to explain its actions in removing the posts of several officials and government agencies. They have to explain why they censored and questioned legitimate messages and the activities of the government," Revilla said in Filipino in a statement shared over Viber.
"Many are pointing their fingers to FB being involved in partisan politics, but I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt. It looks like politics are influencing Facebook and Meta's actions. It is alarming that the country’s affairs are being controlled and at the mercy of a private foreign corporation," he added.
The remarks by Revilla, chair of the Lakas-CMD party, echo those of administration PDP-Laban Party, which also claimed politics was behind the flagging, which Meta on Monday attributed to its "automation system".
The social media giant also said that it was still investigating issues with sharing links from state media Philippine News Agency and Radyo Pilipinas.
In a letter addressed to Facebook Philippines' country director John Rubio and shared with media, Revilla said he shares the worries of government agencies and mass media groups on the effects of Facebook's actions on "the performance of official functions and their implications in national security, sovereignty and fundamental freedoms.
Lawyer Racquel Mejia, a member of Revilla's staff, told reporters that they will wait for Facebook's reply before pursuing further actions.
PNA, the National Press Club, and the administration PDP-Laban party have raised concerns of censorship that may be taking place on the platform.
Meta: Fact-checkers don't take down posts
On Monday, Facebook's parent company Meta said it is working on a three-part strategy on addressing misinformation on Facebook. This involves working with independent third-party fact-checking partners accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network.
"Fact-checkers do not remove content, accounts or Pages from our apps. We remove content when it violates our Community Standards, which are separate from our fact-checking programs," Meta said on its Facebook page.
Meta said it significantly reduces the distribution of content tagged as false so that fewer netizens see it. It also includes warnings and misinformation labels on such posts to notify the people who want to share them on their feeds.
"When Pages, groups, accounts, or websites repeatedly share content that’s been debunked by our fact-checking partners, we reduce their overall distribution," it said.
Marcos spox says FB suspended account
Vic Rodriguez, spokesperson for presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., said Facebook has suspended his account for 30 days for not following community standards.
Rodriguez claimed without evidence that his account was suspended because he supports Marcos.
On Tuesday, a Meta spokesperson said in an emailed statement sent to Philstar.com that Rodriguez's "account was mistakenly restricted for reasons unrelated to any posted content." His account has been restored since then.
The National Press Club on Tuesday condemned the reported suspension of Rodriguez's account, calling it "maliciously-timed."
NPC called the reported suspension "a curtailment of every Filipino’s constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression" and "a completely senseless censorship, a violation of our Bill of Rights and a gross interference in our domestic affairs."
The 1987 Constitution guarantees freedom of speech but the Bill of Rights is a bar on government, which is the duty-bearer for upholding those rights. Facebook and other social media platforms are privately-owned and users agree to abide by their community standards and guidelines when they sign up.
On Monday, administration party PDP-Laban denounced what it said was massive flagging of its party's official posts and photos, and the various pages of its national and local candidates.
The party claimed that the reported flagging may be a ploy by the political opposition to challenge and discredit the Duterte administration and influence the elections.
PDP-Laban and Lakas-CMD support the candidacies of Marcos and of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio under the UniTeam ticket.
READ: 'Pakana siguro ng oposisyon': PDP-Laban pumalag sa FB takedown vs admin bets
— Angelica Y. Yang with reports from Franco Luna
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