THE PHILIPPINE government should consider curbing the spread of disinformation by regulating social media use, a congressman said on Thursday amid concerns over the rise of fabricated and false news reports online.
The government should take measures against individuals or groups sowing discontent and distorting public opinion, said Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong.
“It’s time that the government should step in and regulate the proliferation of… information coming out from the vloggers and all other active users on social media,” he said in a media briefing in mixed English and Filipino.
“The pending impeachment trial against Vice-President Sara Duterte and the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte in The Hague have galvanized their base,” he added. “Unfortunately, many of their supporters have been using social media to spread information that is inaccurate and false.”
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s government dealt successive blows against the Dutertes by surrendering his predecessor, Mr. Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face trial for alleged crimes against humanity, which happened just over a month after Ms. Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives.
The Presidential Communications Office in early March pushed for the creation of a state regulatory body tasked to monitor fake news and to weed out troll armies that operate via dummy accounts.
Similarly, a House of Representatives in February floated the possibility of requiring social media companies to secure a franchise to operate as part of efforts to combat the spread of disinformation. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
