BAGONG Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) chairperson and senatorial aspirant Teddy Casiño yesterday voiced reservations about calls for the government to go tough on social media vloggers who are being investigated in Congress for abetting disinformation and targeting persons and government institutions online.
In an opinion posted on his official Facebook page, the former Bayan Muna congressman noted that the House tri-committee’s inquiry has revealed the possible involvement of a foreign government in the spread of fake news and proposals to impose restrictions on social media contents.
“The recent House inquiry on disinformation has exposed a troubling reality. While it did recognize the accountability of some so-called DDS vloggers in spreading fake news, it also revealed several complications, like China’s hand in the matter and proposals to regulate social media,” he said.
Casiño, a writer and human rights activist, noted that based on the disclosures elicited from pro-Duterte vloggers, some social media personalities with big numbers of followers appear to have been tapped by China to shape public discourse and perception.
“The responses given indicate how pervasive our country’s problem on disinformation has become. Beyond spreading lies and biased narratives, it seems some vloggers have allowed themselves to be used by China to promote disinformation specifically regarding our claim to the West Philippine Sea,” he pointed out.
During the tri-comm hearing, some pro-Duterte vloggers including former presidential communications office secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles admitted that China had sponsored seminars abroad that took up to 12 days.
One of them, Mark Anthony Lopez, admitted to posting a fabricated assertion that Philippine Coast Guard vessels have used water cannons against Chinese ships and personal attacks against PCG Commodore Jay Tarriela.
While agreeing that the admissions were serious, Casiño insisted that regulation of free speech and expression is never a solution to disinformation.
“While we believe that those spreading lies and disinformation should be held liable… we cannot resort to gagging them as this runs counter to the Constitution which guarantees freedom of thought and expression. The government should especially be careful not to use its vast powers to intimidate people into silence,” he said.
He also said Congress has to exercise temperance in trying to strike a balance in upholding the freedom of speech and of expression while ensuring accountability for harmful behavior on social media platforms.
“Propagating the truth is still the best way to fight disinformation. Perhaps we can start by allowing journalists to practice their code of ethics freely and without fear. We should also pass the long overdue right to information law. Plus we can strengthen public and private fact-checking mechanisms to counter false information,” he said.
