The Philippines needs a single, comprehensive cyber law that covers cyber-related offenses, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said.
DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said the government needs to come up with a “more responsive and timely” policy to address crimes in the cybersphere, saying an all-encompassing law would be easier to enforce compared to numerous specific laws.
“We need a new law. We need to have a more comprehensive law rather than bits and pieces of legislation that addresses small or specific items, for instance you have an anti-scam law, an anti-misinformation law, you have an anti-deepfake law or something like that,” Uy said.
Singapore’s cyber law
He cited Singapore which has a law called the “Online Harm Law” that covers all crimes committed online.
“So, that covers anything. If your conduct causes harm, whether it’s phishing, deepfake, misinformation, whatever, it’s covered under that law,” Uy said.
“I think that’s a better way of addressing this whole thing rather than having separate laws. We actually have a lot of laws and it’s very difficult to keep track and enforce all of them. So I think a more comprehensive approach would be appropriate,” he said.
Penalties against enabling platforms, deepfake
Uy also said a law should also be passed to impose penalties against social media platforms that “enable” cyber-related offenses, citing as example the Anti-Money Laundering Act which penalizes banks that facilitates the criminal activity.
“They are in full control of their platform eh. And countries and governments don’t have control over that platform so if there’s something that goes on there, I think they should have the responsibility on that,” he said.
Meanwhile, Uy said the DICT is anticipating the use of deepfake technology in the country’s midterm elections next year, especially on social media which Filipinos are among the top users in the world.
“I have no doubt it will be utilized. Elections sometimes it can be extremely dirty,” he said.
“There are candidates who will resort to nothing less than full domination to their quest to be elected. So they will definitely launch that [on social media],” he said.
In the US, Uy said they are monitoring the proliferation of deepfake technology.
He also said they currently working on the integration of an artificial intelligence (AI) to the e-Government app that will enhance the reportage of scam messages.
He reminded the public to be discerning and cautious against scam messages.
In a related development, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is working with the DICT on the possible takedown of a video circulating on social media showing a man sniffing a powdery substance from a small cup.
“Doon sa video ng isang lalaki na kumalat the other day, I understand yung ACG (Anti-Cybercrime Group) nakapag-coordinate na sa DICT for possible pag-down nitong kumakalat na ito (On the video of a man that became viral on social media the other day, I understand that the ACG has coordinated with the DICT for its possible takedown),” PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a press briefing in Camp Crame on Thursday afternoon.
Fajardo, meanwhile, called on netizens to refrain from spreading the video, which was earlier shown at a gathering of a group linked to former president Rodrigo Duterte in the United States.
“Huwag na natin ikalat yan dahil, unang-una, based nga sa initial investigation, ay hindi totoo yan doon sa mga kumakalat na balita na ang isang high-profile personality yung mismong nakita doon sa video (Let’s not spread it because based on initial investigation, it is not true that the man seen on the video is a high-profile personality),” she said.
Fake video of man who looks like President Marcos
Justice Undersecretary Hermogenes Andres earlier said the video of a man who looks like President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is fake and intended to “make a misrepresentation.”
He warned that those who spread the fake video could be held equally liable for cybercrime.
In a separate statement, ACG Director, Brig. Gen. Ronnie Cariaga, said a deepware artificial intelligence (AI) detection tool with multiple algorithms revealed that the video was fake and was created using AI.
Cariaga said the investigation noted discrepancies in the facial features of Marcos and the unidentified man on the video, particularly the size of the ear, shape of the eyes and nose, and sideburns.
He said a spectral imaging analysis conducted by the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) showed that the video had been processed to make it appear that it was Marcos snorting a substance from a small cup.
NBI digital forensics experts said the man in the altered video depicting the President is conclusively a different person.
Source: PNA. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1230479
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1229841
