Harassment takes on a new form in the age of social media – with hurtful comments, photos, videos, and other forms of media that threaten the reputation of private individuals.
Engr. Janssen Esguerra, Information Technology Officer from the Data Security and Technology Standards Division of the National Privacy Commission, advised that a Filipino whose reputation gets tarnished on social media can press charges under the R.A. 10175 otherwise known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Engr. Esguerra highlighted the importance of this law to protect victims of harassment on social media during the Q and A portion of the free webinar titled “Social Media: Power, Accountability, and Responsibility” led by the Israel Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ICCP).
The victim is advised to file a case in the Department of Justice as well to ensure that the suspects will face the penalties as indicated in the law. S/he can also approach the Philippine Anti Cyber Crime Group and the National Privacy Commission to seek further counsel.
“If someone is maligned, they can press charges and exhaust remedies from our law enforcement agencies such as the DOJ/NBI. They can file also charges before our Philippine National Police Anti Cybercrime Group. They can also file in the National Privacy Commission because if maligning an individual also involves personal information, then there’s a penal provision in the Data Privacy Act which is the malicious disclosures,” advised Engr. Esguerra.
Verification is key
Dr. Karen Remo, CEO and Managing Director, New Perspective Media Group, publisher of The Filipino Times, outlined that netizens should proactively seek the truth and verify their sources, as they harness the power of social media so that they could share accurate information that ripples through their own social networks.
“We have to know the power of social media, we have to be responsible and accountable for it. If there’s just one thing that I would like everybody to take from this session is that you should be mindful of whatever you absorb and whatever you share. verify, verify, verify. Don’t share anything unless you’ve really verified it,” advised Dr. Remo.
In her talk titled: “Social Media: Redistributing power, influence, responsibility”, Dr. Remo highlighted that social media has essentially leveled the playing field for everyone who wishes to gain access to information.
She also underscored that social media has a three-pronged effect on its audiences including its power to bring people together to bring positive change in their communities, its capability to shape public perception on social issues, as well as the dangers it poses on work productivity and the risk of an ‘infodemic’ or perpetuating fake news.
Dr. Remo advised that it’s important to remember that what you might think is a joke, might be taken offensively by other parties on social media. She proposed a four-way checklist before netizens hit the ‘share’ or ‘send’ button including:
– Does your post indicate any kind of violence?
– Does your post comprise somebody’s social media conversations with you?
– Is there religious intolerance or racism in your post?
– Is your post deliberately causing harassment?
Protect your data
The ICCP-led webinar also gained insights from National Privacy Commission’s OIC-Deputy Privacy Commissioner and Executive Director Atty. Ivin Ronald Alzona.
He pointed out that social media made its mark in influencing the decision-making process of netizens which reflects a huge investment among businesses on social media marketing to the tune of $153B in 2021 according to Statistica Research Department. The study also anticipates that this will increase to $233B by 2025.
Atty. Alzona also highlighted that the number of social media users from the Philippines continues to grow, with an estimate of 91.3 million Filipinos that will be active across various social media platforms by the year 2026. This means that three out of every four Filipinos will be on social media in a few years’ time. He pointed out that
With the sheer number of Filipinos across these social media platforms, the National Privacy Commission has been mandated to implement the Data Privacy act which delves on the security of personal information that Filipinos share on these platforms.
Atty. Alzona stressed the importance of practicing online digital hygiene so that social media users stay protected in four ways:
– Updating personal information
– Changing passwords regularly
– Getting alerts for unrecognized logins
– Using two-factor authentication
Nir Balzam, Deputy Head of Mission from the Embassy of Israel in the Philippines, and ICCP President Yoray Ofek provided their own insights on social media to open the afternoon session, which was moderated by ICCP Board Director and Head of Education Committee, Michael Sherwin Macatangay.
The Israel Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines is a non-profit organization that aims to increase the bilateral trade between Israel and the Philippines.
