#right to security

[themagical1sa]

reposting from my own Twitter thread

first tweeted on 11:25 AM, 02 March 2022 (Philippine Time)

Man, I don't know how I expect myself to concentrate in class today when the SIM Card and Social Media Registration Act is about to be passed into law on *Friday.* That bill is going to nullify our right to privacy and endanger our cyber safety. It's going to make us more prone to hacking/doxxing and, on top of that, makes red-tagging easier. I don't know how I'm supposed to go on about my day when there is a whole bill that is going to endanger us all. Sure, a lawyer may say that context is important when discerning whether the law was broken or not, but the bill's definitions were so vaguely written that discernment isn't enough. It shouldn't be, when the bill was supposed to definitively define and expound what it was supposed to be related to and what is permitted or not in the first place. People may say that it was supposed to be a counteraction to trolls and spreaders of misinformation, but what I'm reading is a weapon against those who are against... certain people in government. It's a weapon against activists journalists artists and even common, harmless civilians. Any- and everyone is at risk of being attacked, whether on the cyberspace or in real life. Who knows? I'm at risk, even if I say nothing about politics online. You're at risk, even if you don't use social media often. EVERYONE is at risk, no matter the frequency of our social media usage. At this rate, the safest way out of this is to not own any social media, but not having any social media contacts in this modern age? That can't be, not when having at least ONE is A NECESSITY. I know my voice may not even matter in the end, but I have to try. I have a right to privacy and safety on the internet.

Read the Act itself.

Read the statement urging for the current Philippine President to veto the Act.

Sign the petition. (locals only ; for foreigners, please share)

'Mandatory SIM card registration puts privacy at risk, might not curb crime' — Angela Y. Yang, Philstar.com

We are Filipino citizens who reserve the right to privacy and safety on the internet as well as the right to freedom of speech. It is in the 1987 Constitution, under Article III, Sections 3.1 (though conditional, it seems) and 4.

Above is a screenshot of Microsoft Edge from my laptop. The tab is showing a webpage from the Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. The text shown is from Article III, the Bill of Rights, but the highlighted ones are Sections 3 (1) and 4. They read, "SECTION 3. (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by law," and "SECTION 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances," respectively.

The social media provision must be challenged first. We cannot let this law endanger us to predators on the internet.

[themagical1sa]

My brain: the SIM Card and SocMed Registration Act is not retroactive, as far as we're concerned. You're fine.

Me: It may not be retroactive but it will actively risk everyone who has yet to create any social media. If it's going to require us to share personal and sensitive information before we get to use social media... that's like asking us to strip naked before throwing ourselves to the wolves.

It forbids the usage of fictitious identities when registering accounts, meting out the draconian punishment of a minimum of 6 years in prison and/or a fine of up to ₱200,000. Essentially, it criminalizes anonymity and pseudonymity on the Internet – legitimate norms used by individuals who wish for privacy, artists/writers who use pen and stage names, parody/entertainment accounts, activists, dissenters, human rights defenders, LGBTQI, victims of abuse and violence, witnesses, whistleblowers, investigative journalists, and legitimate cybersecurity research and law enforcement operations.

Even the leaders who shaped our nation’s identity made use of fictitious names to freely express themselves: Jose Rizal (Laong Laan, Dimasalang), Antonio Luna (Taga-Ilog), Marcelo H. del Pilar (Plaridel), Andres Bonifacio (Agapito Bagumbayan), Emilio Jacinto (Dimas-Ilaw, Pingkian), and many others. In essence, were our heroes alive today, the state would be branding them as criminals.

Moreover, the requirement that corporations like social media providers mandatorily collect real names and private phone numbers even when they are normally optional, puts Filipino citizens in jeopardy. From a cybersecurity perspective, the law is creating additional vulnerabilities for individuals because of the potential for data breaches. Even the most well-funded companies and institutions are not immune to hacking and data leaks, like what happened to Yahoo in 2013 and 2014 and Facebook in 2019 and 2021 where the names and personal phone numbers of users were spread on the Internet. Should these reoccur and citizens’ names and phone numbers leak, it will open them to harassment, identity theft, financial crime, and other forms of harm.

Aside from these, the bill poses a dire threat to children’s safety. Forcing children to register with their real names on social media like in online games or communities may expose their real names to complete strangers on the Internet, opening them to harassment, doxing, scams, kidnapping, and even child sexual predators.

— from Democracy.Net.PH

Filipinos (especially those who live in the Philippines), sign the petition.

Foreigners, please share and spread awareness.

We still need 9,332 signatures for it to be printed and sent to the president.

Sign the Petition

Statement Urging President Duterte to Veto the "SIM Card and Social Media Registration Act

[themagical1sa]

Regarding the SIM Card and Social Media Registration Act

because people still reblog these posts on it, and it's time I personally update everyone about it.

For those unaware: the SIM Card and SocMed Registration Act was a bill initially intended as counteraction against trolls and spreaders of misinformation on social media.

It was, however, found to be unconstitutional, criminalizing the right to anonymity and pseudonymity on the Internet and is a violation of Filipinos' rights to privacy, freedom of speech, and freedom of association (Democracy.Net.PH).

c. For using fictitious identites to register SIM cards or social media accounts. — The penalty of imprisonment of no less than six (6) years, or a fine of up to Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000.00), or both, shall be imposed upon anyone who uses a fictitious identity to purchase and register a SIM cards or social media account.

This is a direct violation of the 1987 Constitution, particularly Article III Sections 3 (1) and 4.

Above is a screenshot of Microsoft Edge from my laptop. The tab is showing a webpage from the Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. The text shown is from Article III, the Bill of Rights, but the highlighted text are Sections 3 (1) and 4. They read, “SECTION 3. (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by law,” and “SECTION 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.”

With this in mind, it was imperative that word spread of how dangerous the Act was and to have the then-President Rodrigo Duterte veto it.

It was vetoed on April 15, 2022.

This was, as @katsurolle said, "half a win for online anonymity." It was only vetoed because the this bill would also endanger and penalize paid political trolls in the Philippines.

Half a win as it was... there was a collective sigh of relief from the Filipino people.

This half-victory had been only short-lived.

Four months into presidency, President Bongbong Marcos signed a revised SIM Card Registration bill into law on October 10, 2022.

Bongbong Marcos signs SIM Card Registration Act

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGGZ2L6_DmI MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Monday signed th

It is meant to reduce cybercrime — spam and scam texts, more especially.

According to Office of the Press Secretary officer-in-charge Cheloy Garafil, the SIM Card Registration Act aims to provide “accountability in the use of SIM cards and aid law enforcers to track perpetrators of crimes committed through phones.”

The signing of the measure will likewise “significantly boost government initiatives against scams committed through text and online messages, which have become more prevalent this year.”

This, however, brings forth a new concern: data leaks.

Scam texts in the Philippines have been containing the receiver's names, and it's been very likely that private information on the internet has been leaked.

I have more that go as far as July.

There are certainly many issues that need to be resolved first, but as far as the SIM Card Registration Law is concerned, its execution is well underway. Globe Telecom's subscribers have already been receiving a text that looks like this:

Hi! Get ready to start your Globe Prepaid SIM registration journey on December 27, 2022. For more info, please visit https://glbe.co/simregfaq

I just hope the SIM Card Registration Law will be as effective as national goverment officials claim it to be.

Thank you to everyone who spread awareness of the SIM Card and Social Media Registration Act — I'm very grateful.

That will be all, and thank you for reading.

[themagical1sa]

WE DID IT. WE GOT THE PRESIDENT TO VETO THE SIM CARD AND SOCIAL MEDIA REGISTRATION ACT.