Bicol solon seeks criminalization of cyber-bullying

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MANILA — A Bicol lawmaker has asked his colleagues to define and penalize the crime of cyber-bullying when Congress resumes session next week.

“By penalizing acts of cyber-bullying, people are encouraged to become responsible netizens and make them accountable for their cyber-actions,” Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. said.

The former Budget Secretary penned HB 5718 entitled “An Act defining and penalizing the crime of cyber-bullying” or the “Anti Cyber-Bullying Act of 2015.”

“Cyber-bullying is one such problem that the advancement in technology and social media has generated. It can potentially affect not only school-aged children, but also any individual who has access to a mobile phone or the internet,” Andaya said in his explanatory note.

.Cyber-bullying, he said, shall refer to acts of cruelty committed using the internet or any form of electronic media or technology that has the effect of stripping one’s dignity or causing reasonable fear or physical or emotional harm such as, but not limited to, the following:

a)Repeatedly sending offensive, rude and insulting message;

b)Distributing derogatory information about the victim;

c)Posting or sending offensive photos of the victim, whether these are digitally altered or not, or were taken with or without consent, with the intention to humiliate and embarrass the victim;

d)Breaking into an email, social networking or any electronic account and using the victim’s virtual identity to send, upload or distribute embarrassing materials to or about others;

e)Sharing the victim’s personal information or any embarrassing information, or tricking the victim into revealing personal or embarrassing information and sharing it to others; and

f)Repeatedly sending messages that include threats of harm or engaging in online activities that cause fear on the victim’s safety.

HB 5718 provides the penalty of fifty thousand pesos (P50,000) but not more than one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000) and imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but not more than six (6) years, or both shall be imposed upon any person found guilty of cyber-bullying.

“The onset of the internet has shattered world barriers empowering users with immense information and allowed them to be socially connected to virtually anybody around the globe in the comfort of their own homes,” Andaya explained.

“Because of the anonymity that the internet gives, social and moral norms are easily switched off and users are emboldened to just say or post anything online without accountability,” he added.

As a result, Andaya noted, internet bashing has become a culture among internet users and even spawned problems that involve hostility and aggression.

The measure provides that the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall jointly formulate the necessary rules and regulations within ninety (90) days from approval of the Act for its effective implementation.

HB 5718 has been referred to the Committee on Information Communication Technology chaired by Rep. Joel Roy R. Duavit (1st District, Rizal) for proper consideration and action.