George Garcia
A ballot watchdog has referred to as for the repeal of the Fee on Elections’ (Comelec) pointers on synthetic intelligence (AI) and social media for being “censorship within the guise of combating faux information.”
In a press release on Thursday, Kontra Daya mentioned that whereas Comelec’s intention seems to be good, the definitions of faux information and different associated phrases within the pointers “are so broad that it could possibly embrace truthful commentary protected by freedom of speech and of expression like essential analyses, satire and parody.”
The group was referring to the Sept. 17 Comelec Decision No. 11064 on using social media, AI, and web know-how for the 2025 nationwide and native elections and the parliamentary elections within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Area in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Meant to mislead
The decision outlined faux information as “the colloquial, collective, and customary time period utilized by unusual Filipinos to discuss with misinformation, malinformation, or disinformation intentionally offered as respectable information and disseminated by way of digital platforms, conventional media, or different communication channels, with the intent to deceive, mislead, or manipulate public opinion or voter habits.”
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Kontra Daya mentioned the decision must be opposed by involved media and press freedom advocates as they’d rejected Senate and Home payments associated to regulating so-called faux information.
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May very well be weaponized
“In the identical method that the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 has been used to crack down on respectable dissent given its broad definition of terrorism, there’s purpose for the Comelec decision to be weaponized to censor media content material that speaks reality to energy,” the group mentioned.
Danilo Arao, Kontra Daya convenor and journalism professor on the College of the Philippines, warned that the Comelec decision may very well be directed in opposition to authorities critics.
“We have already got instances previously the place posts criticizing the federal government resulted in submitting of instances and detention in jail as a result of authorities officers used legal guidelines just like the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012,” he mentioned.
Arao mentioned that as an alternative of regulation, the Comelec “ought to give attention to educating our residents to allow them to inform what’s credible information from what just isn’t, in addition to easy methods to use AI and different applied sciences responsibly.”
“Whether it is severe about combating misinformation and disinformation, Comelec’s voter schooling program ought to embrace media literacy, significantly fact-checking,” he added.
The Comelec pointers additionally prohibit and penalize the misuse of social media, AI, and web know-how for disinformation and misinformation in reference to the 2025 nationwide and native elections.
Lengthy listing of offenses
The Comelec issued a wide-ranging listing of election offenses, together with using “false amplifiers,” reminiscent of faux accounts, bots and astroturf teams full of faux customers to propagate disinformation and misinformation in endorsing or campaigning in opposition to a candidate, a political occasion, or coalition, or party-list organizations.
Propagating disinformation and misinformation focusing on the Philippine election system, the Comelec, and electoral processes through the election and marketing campaign interval, are additionally election offenses.
The others embrace coordinated inauthentic habits and utilization of hyperactive customers; creation and dissemination of deepfakes, cheapfakes, and smooth fakes; use of faux and unregistered social media accounts through the election and marketing campaign interval; creation and dissemination of faux information; and use of content material produced by way of AI know-how however with out compliance to the transparency and disclosure necessities underneath the rules.
An election offense is punishable by as much as six years in jail, perpetual disqualification from holding any public workplace and deprivation of the suitable to vote.
‘KKK’
The ballot physique created a brand new enforcement group referred to as Job Power sa Katotohanan, Katapatan at Katarungan (KKK) sa Halalan. It can examine detected or reported prohibited acts, and file complaints in opposition to suspected erring candidates, events, people, and entities.
Its duties embrace debunking faux information in opposition to the Philippine election system, the Comelec or the electoral processes.
Along with stopping using our on-line world to commit election violations, the Comelec additionally required the registration of all official social media accounts and different on-line and internet-based marketing campaign platforms utilized by candidates and political events and people newly created for the upcoming midterm polls.
Dec. 13 deadline
The social media accounts and different on-line platforms must be registered with the Schooling and Data Division of the Comelec by Dec. 13.
Any particular person or entity aside from a candidate or political occasion, who creates or manages social media accounts and pages, web sites, podcasts, blogs, vlogs, and different on-line and internet-based marketing campaign platforms primarily designed or used through the election interval to solicit votes and promote the election or defeat of a selected candidate or candidates, must also be registered.
It’s unclear whether or not non-public people, numbering within the thousands and thousands within the Philippines, who’ve present social media accounts and who will specific assist for sure candidates or name for the rejection of others are additionally required to register.
‘Overbroad scope’
Within the Philippines, there are 86.75 million on Fb, 10.77 million have X accounts and 21.35 are Instagram customers.
There are over 18,000 elective posts to be contested within the Could 2025 polls by over 43,000 candidates.
READ: Socmed accounts registration for 2025 elections ends Dec 13
On Oct. 30, the Makabayan coalition wrote Comelec Chair George Garcia looking for a dialogue about its considerations concerning the “overbroad scope of the rules,” significantly the obligatory registration of social media accounts and platforms, and the “free speech and privateness implications of such registration.”
The group mentioned the identical considerations had been raised by social media customers who concern that their accounts and web sites may be taken down or blocked they usually themselves can be the targets of disinformation and misinformation.
A strategy to verify spending
At a information discussion board on Oct. 12, Garcia mentioned that apart from monitoring faux information, one objective of the registration of social media accounts and on-line platforms was to assist the ballot physique verify marketing campaign spending.
In the course of the marketing campaign, social media influencers and content material makers are paid large sums, which is why the Comelec will even coordinate with the Bureau of Inner Income to observe such bills, he mentioned.
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In an interview with reporters final week, Garcia mentioned the registration of social media accounts was additionally necessary to fight international intervention, which he mentioned remained a “menace” to the nation’s elections. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH INQ
