A lawmaker has filed a measure intended to rid both the traditional and social media of fictitious or misleading reports that are being manufactured and passed on to the public as legitimate information.
Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte penned House Bill 6022 which penalizes not only the creation of false content and the malicious distribution of this “fake news,” but also the failure to remove such content once it has been published.
“This bill proposes to nip the cause of fake news in the bud by prohibiting the creation and malicious distribution of false information. It aims to ensure that the content being published and disseminated by mass media outlets and social media personalities are free from false, misleading or fictitious stories through a clear definition of what fake news is,” said Villafuerte.
Villafuerte said his proposal aims to encourage responsible and credible journalism, as well as create awareness of the harmful effects of spreading untruthful facts.
“Misleading and deceptive news can cause divisiveness, health hazards, security risks, panic and chaos to this nation, contrary to our Constitutionally enshrined principle of adhering to a policy of peace and cooperation,” he said.
He pointed out that while the age of the Internet has “truly democratized free speech,” it has also made it easier for people to create and distribute false information.
Villafuerte’s HB 6022, defines “fake news” as: misquotation or the false and/or inaccurate report of one’s statement; editing audio or video that results to the distortion of facts and/or the context; or purely fabricated content.
The bill penalizes mass media outlets found guilty of creating fake news of fines ranging from P1 million to P5 million and suspension of their operations from one week to one month.
The bill provides that mass media outlets disseminating fake news shall be punished with fines ranging from P500,000 to P1 million.
For social media users creating fake news, the bill-proposed fines range from P100,000 to P500,000 with imprisonment of arresto menor (1 to 30 days), arresto mayor (1 month and 1 day to 6 months) or prision correccional (6 months and 1 day to 6 years), depending on the gravity of the offense.
Social media users found guilty of disseminating fake news shall be meted fines ranging from P50,000 to P100,000.
A different set of fines, suspension of operations and prison terms are also specified under the bill for mass media outlets and social media users “found guilty of aiding and abetting in the creation or dissemination of fake news content, by any means” and for those who fail or refuse to retract any fake news or issue an erratum to correct such false reporting.
“Other countries have already undertaken measures to prevent the spread of fake news through legislation,” Villafuerte said.
He cited Singapore, which passed the Telecommunications Act of 2000 that penalizes any person who transmits or causes a message to be transmitted that he or she knows to be false or fabricated.
Villafuerte said Canada also regulates its media through various laws and has banned licensed media outlets to broadcast any false or misleading news, while countries like Germany, Italy and the United States have started their respective legislative proposals to check fake news.
“While the responsibility of discerning lie from truth falls with the person consuming the information, it is a moral duty of the State to protect its people from such lies in the first place. This bill aims to curb the existence of disreputable news sources and prevent established mass media outlets from careless publishing of unverified or false content,” Villafuerte said..
HB 6022 has become even more relevant now that the Philippines is among the world’s most virtually connected countries in the world, with seven million active social media users, he added.