One-sided

Jeers to The Manila Times for a one-sided report on the Cybercrime Prevention bill which recently passed on third reading in the Senate.

The Times, in a Feb. 6 report, interviewed bill proponent Sen. Edgardo Angara on the contents of the bill. Angara said that other groups are skeptical with the bill as it may violate the people’s right to Internet access. But the Times failed to report on what those reservations were. (“Cybercrime bill will not impair Internet rights“)

Yahoo! News Philippines published an analysis by Alexander Villafania of loQal.ph, a local website. Villafania said that the bill might be outdated as even common Internet terms are not included in it, among other flaws. Some provisions of the bill could also violate the right to privacy.

He also cited Section 11 and 12 of the bill. Section 11 would force, through a court order, information from the Internet service provider about the specific user investigated which would violate the privacy agreement between the provider and the subscriber.

Section 12, meanwhile, enables investigating bodies with a court order to acquire data through direct access to the computer of the person being investigated or through “the use of electronic eavesdropping or tapping devices.”

TXTPower, meanwhile, said in a GMA News Online report that the bill, if passed into law, could be used to control and limit Internet use. They said “under the Senate version, the government would have the power to retain all user-identifiable data for a period of six months, from as many individuals it could possibly tag as suspected cybercriminals.”