Anti-Cybercrime bill now a law, criminalizes bashing

Earlier last week (September 12 to be exact), Pres. Noynoy Aquino has formally signed into a law Republic Act No. 10175 or more commonly referred to as the Anti-Cybercrime Law.

This law will be jointly coordinated and implemented by the DOST, DOJ and the DILG and be implemented in 90 days.

A copy of the signed law is shown below.

One controversial section of this law is the Online Libel which makes just about anybody on the internet liable when they bash, attack, debase, humiliate or anything of that sort. That might also include cyber-bullying.

As someone who has been confronted with libel case as far back as 2006, I feel this development has serious implications. The law, while it aims to protect the victims of online crimes, can also be used to harass.

Then again, this is also a strong warning against hackers, crackers, phishers, online scammers and bullies that their days are finally over. We remember, back in August, over 300 people were arrested by the PNP and PAOCC for alleged cyber-criminal acts.

The government has allocated Php50USD 0.85INR 72EUR 0.81CNY 6 million annually to put up this agency. So, the next time someone hacked your Yahoo! email, cracked your Paypal account, or scammed you into buying a fake item over Sulit, you know there’s a specific law just for it.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

57 Comments

ty says:

13 years ago

so if i blog negative reviews about my experience, say, a restaurant…am i gonna get in trouble for that…how about our freedom of speech…i thought we live in a democratic society!
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Bob says:

13 years ago

Does this include Smart’s Time to Change campaign (obviously) against Globe?
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PJ De Jesus says:

13 years ago

I am not liking this law. And yeah right, how about freedom of speech?

“One controversial section of this law is the Online Libel which makes just about anybody on the internet liable when they bash, attack, debase, humiliate or anything of that sort. That might also include cyber-bullying.”
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Miss Call says:

13 years ago

Good thing that Sotto is now protected against “cyber-bullying”.
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charicepost says:

13 years ago

we can always say what we want not in an offending way.
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charicepost says:

13 years ago

we can always say what we want not in an offending way. Lets practice respecting others. Being rude is not gonna do good to us.
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Tribs says:

13 years ago

Tama si TY. This is a sensitive issue that borders on freedoms of speech, expression and so on. I read the whole law and I am not a lawyer. There are so many points subject to interpretation. For example if I say, I don’t like this watch because of whatever reason, that is MY personal opinion and even if I tell the whole world about it–it remains to be my opinion. Now cyber bullying is another thing. Bullies naman are cowards whether in the real or the virtual world.
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charicepost says:

13 years ago

too much freedom could be dangerous thats why we have government & religion to keep everyone grounded. Lets not forget we are human & we need protection not just from other people but also from ourselves. Lets not be selfish that everything should be about us, there are other people & kids who commit suicide because of bullying. You keep sating about its our freedom for opinion but i think its also governments freedom to have their too. If cant respect governments opinion then how can we give respect to others & ourselves. Government is an embodiment of our entire culture & society.

el toro bumingo says:

13 years ago

Whenever a new law is passed, the real challenge is always in the implementation. With other serious cases like murder and drugs plaguing our courts, this will be another burden to the accused and the judiciary :(
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charicepost says:

13 years ago

too much freedom could be dangerous thats why we have government & religion to keep everyone grounded. Lets not forget we are human & we need protection not just from other people but also from ourselves. Lets not be selfish that everything should be about you/us, there are other people & kids who commit suicide because of bullying. We keep saying that its our freedom for speech/opinion but i think its also the governments freedom to have theirs too. If we cant respect governments opinion then how can we give respect to others & ourselves. Government is an embodiment of our entire culture & society, it is all about EVERYONE not me, you, him, or her,,,,
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kkk says:

13 years ago

another step in the never ending pussification of the human race
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