A broad coalition of stakeholders has been formed to fight for the truth, raise standards in content creation, and help combat fake news in the country.
Digital Media Standards Coalition Chair Anton Mauricio led the launch of the group at the Peninsula Manila hotel on Monday.
The DMSC is composed of the Blockchain Council of the Philippines, Creator and Influencer Council of the Philippines, Cybersecurity Council of the Philippines, Global AI Council of the Philippines, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Kapisanan ng Social Media at Brodkaster ng Pilipinas.
Mauricio said the DMSC is banking on the media to act responsibly and address harmful content on social media, which could result in cyber threats to the country. Its foremost mission is to fight fake news and “truth decay.”
Bataan 1st District Representative Geraldine Roman, who was at the launch, said that lawmakers established the widespread proliferation of fake news during a House of Representatives tripartite hearing.
“Second, we recognize that this is a big problem for our country because it has dire implications — even on national security — and, more importantly, on the future of our country and the future generations. And third, we recognize that there is a legal void when it comes to social media platforms and social media content creation,” Roman said.
She said that discussions in the tripartite focused on what kind of regulation could be applied, which yielded two schools of thought, the first involving direct government intervention through the creation of an agency to act as a watchdog over social media content.
“But this is not what I am advocating. I am fighting for regulation over social media platforms by requiring them to follow a set of requirements. To begin with, by establishing a legal entity and presence in our country so that they may be subject to the law. Second, I also want to include in the bill requirements for social media to verify accounts, so that at least there is a name behind each account,” she said.
Roman said she plans to file a bill that would require social media accounts to disclose their sources. She said this is where the coalition would step in, as it would push platforms to adhere to the coalition’s findings.
Because Roman is part of the government, Mauricio’s group will carry out the fact-checking component, which Roman said is very important.
“The coalition will also carry out fact-checking. You know why it is important for an independent coalition to do the fact-checking? Because it is not a government agency,” she said.
“If it were part of the state or the government, its credibility might always be questioned. So for me, a coalition formed through the initiative of the stakeholders themselves is much more credible and much more independent than a government agency,” she said.
Roman said she is considering a three-pronged approach: define fake news, carry out fact-checking and impose penalties on violators.
She said she has been very supportive of the coalition, which includes DICT representation and which identifies her as an adviser.
Roman, a former journalist, said that aside from being a lawmaker, she recognizes the importance of protecting freedom of speech and expression.
“For the government to actually regulate this freedom of expression might be — and probably is — unconstitutional. But what we can do is regulate social media platforms by making them act as gatekeepers,” she said.