Lawmaker seeks police-social media tie-up vs terrorism

To curb online terrorist propaganda and recruitment, a party-list solon is urging law enforcement agencies to work closely and strengthen ties with social media companies.

“We laud the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other law enforcement agencies for their vigilance in monitoring social media accounts that espouse terrorism and terrorist activities,” Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy said in a statement on Monday.

“However, I feel we should do more in order to protect this public space that’s accessible to many, including children,” Dy, who is also the chair of the House committee on public information, added.

Dy said this move would help effectively silence “keyboard propagandists” advocating terrorism.

“We should not only guard the citizenry against the misuse of social media platforms to forward terrorism, but also to the kind of information that is available out there,” she said.

The solon also noted AFP’s previous report that it was closely monitoring about 300 accounts on various social media platforms spreading terrorist propaganda.

The AFP, she said, had taken down 60 social media accounts so far, with the help of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Unit and social media companies.

The lawmaker also cited the Department of Information and Communication Technologies’ (DICT) warning in June that those who take part in spreading terrorist propaganda online could face arrest for “cyber rebellion” or “cyber sedition.”

However, Dy said the move should not impede the rights of the people.

“In this age of technology where anybody can access the Internet anytime and anywhere, it is also our responsibility, particularly to the young generation, to deny terrorists any social media platform to spread their cause,” she said.

Dy has filed a bill, seeking the establishment of a magna carta for Philippine Internet freedom, cybercrime prevention and law enforcement, cyberdefense and national cybersecurity. CBB