MANILA – The Presidential Communications Office is eyeing the possibility of establishing a government body that would regulate social media and combat the proliferation of misinformation or “fake news”.
According to PCO Acting Secretary Jay Ruiz, talks are ongoing regarding the potential creation of a social media regulatory body.
“Pinag-aaralan po natin ‘yan. Sana magkaroon kahit papaano, lalo na doon sa mabibigat na issue na hindi katotohanan,” Ruiz said in an interview on Monday.
Ruiz added that addressing “fake news”, especially on social media, would be among the priorities of the new PCO leadership.
“Actually, that’s one of the reasons why naengganyo ko na labanan ang fake news kasi alam mo, sobra na. Tsaka walang nagre-regulate,” Ruiz said.
“Movie, television may regulatory commission: MTRCB (Movie and Television Regulatory and Classification Board), di ba? Sa movies may nagre-regulate; radio may nagre-regulate, TV may nagre-regulate. Eh bakit natin pinapabayaan na puro fake news ang lumalabas sa online? Tama ba ‘yun?” he added.
The newly-appointed PCO official also said they were also looking at the possible filing of legal action against “fake news” spreaders, especially for false information related to national security.
“Pag sumobra, lalo na ‘yung threat na to national security. Lalo na ‘yun ‘di ba? Magsasabi ka, kagaya ngayon walang pasok, may pasok naman pala. Magsasabi ka may bomba sa ganito, bobombahin, siyempre. Paano mo hindi namang fa-file-an ‘yung mga ‘yan? ‘Yung mga nananakot, nagpapakalat ng kasinungalingan,” he said.
“We have our legal time that will take of that if, in case sumobra. Hindi ko naman sinasabi ‘yung… But ang punto lang dito kailangan kung blogger ka man, social media influencer ka man, tanggap mo rin dapat na may responsibilidad — a greater responsibility to the public. ‘Di ba?,” he added./PN
