Congress asked to form a body to regulate social media content

Kapisanan ng Social Media Broadcasters ng Pilipinas, Inc. chairman Dr. Michael Raymond Apacible Aragon (left) and legal counsel Anna Tan talk to members of the media after filing a complaint against certain social media personalities for alleged publication of illegal, immoral, and libelous content online before the Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group office in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. INQUIRER.net / Faith Argosino

MANILA, Philippines — Congress is being urged to craft a law that would set up a regulatory body to oversee and evaluate social media content.

The Kapisanan ng Social Media Broadcasters ng Pilipinas, Inc. (KSMBPI) said they already wrote Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin requesting his office to draft an interim executive order on the creation of the “national social media regulatory board” pending its legislation.

The KSMBPI on Tuesday filed before the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) office in Camp Crame a complaint against certain social media personalities for the alleged publication of illegal, immoral, and libelous content online, which includes the viral video of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. supposedly commanding the Armed Forces of the Philippines to act against a foreign country.

READ: PNP tracing persons behind ‘deep fake’ video showing false clips of Marcos

“We are asking the Senate and Congress to do a law creating the national social media regulatory board beyond just classification or censorship,” KSMBPI chair Michael Raymond Aragon said in an interview at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

“Ibig sabihin, ang nalagay namin doon ay National Security Council, Department of National Defense, and PNP; a committee of a whole that will try to see and evaluate the clear and present danger that this thing na nangyari satin,” he added.

(This means the board will include the National Security Council, Department of National Defense, and PNP; a committee of a whole that will try to see and evaluate the clear and present danger of this thing we are experiencing [on social media].)

READ: PNP has ‘possible source’ of Marcos deepfake video

Aragon continued: “We wrote to Executive Secretary Bersamin, and our letter was received, asking him or the executive department to temporarily draft a temporary EO signed by the president (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) while we process the law in Congress.”

In filing a complaint against certain social media personalities, Aragon and KSMBPI legal counsel Anna Tan cited the supposed violation of Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code (unlawful utterances or unlawful use of publication).

Although Aragon opted to withhold details about the individuals, the complaint sheet he sent to the media listed three pages of social media accounts and channels that include two YouTube channels and a Reddit account that reportedly disseminated deep fake audios, videos, and chat posts “promoting anti-government propaganda.”

Earlier, the PNP said they had already identified a possible source of Marcos’ viral deep fake video, while the ACG said it coordinated with the Department of Information and Communications Technology on the matter.

The PNP likewise appealed to anyone with vital information that would aid authorities in tracking the people behind the deep fake video to come forward and help with the case.