'We must not allow social media to be used as a platform for identity theft, intimidation, or worse, a tool to plant bogus evidence,' says Senator Francis Pangilinan.
There are fears the proposed law would be used to target critics of the Duterte administration, and now, as fake accounts mushroom all over Facebook, there is even more concern.
"Facebook has been making billions of dollars as it turns a blind eye [to] disinformation and deception. Fake Facebook accounts can be likened to a crime scene and Facebook a willing accomplice to the crime. This must stop," Pangilinan said. Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate also questioned whether the creation of fake Facebook accounts is a prelude to a crackdown on dissent.
"Even activists with no FB accounts now have 5 or more poser accounts. Are troll farms now harvesting names on online petitions so that their bots would not be detected and then use these fake accounts to spread fake news and get the real name owner into trouble?" said Zarate, who is also House deputy minority leader. and identity theft if this persists.
"We're investigating reports of suspicious activity on our platform and taking action on any accounts that we find to be in violation of our policies."to probe the creation of fake Facebook accounts. Computer-related identity theft is a crime under Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
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