President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed a law that would have required citizens to register their SIM card ownership and use their true identities when opening social media accounts.
Duterte refuses to sign the SIM card and social media registration law
Last February 2, both houses of Congress enacted the proposed law, which included House Bill No. 5793 and Senate Bill No. 2395. It aims to require the registration of all SIM cards and social media accounts to combat electronic communication-aided crimes. Besides, they also saw it to guard against terrorism, text scams, and bank fraud.
The new bill would have compelled public telecommunications firms to require everyone wanting to buy and use a SIM card to first register their name before the activation of the card. Those who already have a SIM card must register their name with the appropriate telecom businesses within 180 days. Failure to do so will result in the deactivation of their SIM card.
In addition, anybody creating a social media account would have had to give their true name and phone number. This is the major issue of the president because the bill’s concern is only about SIM card registration.
Acting Presidential Spokesman and Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said “The President noted that the inclusion of social media providers in the registration requirement was not part of the original version of the bill and needs a more thorough study,”.
Deputy Speaker Wes Gatchalian, principal author of the House version, said requiring SIM card and social media registration would have aided in the prevention of misinformation, anonymous online defamation, trolling, libel, and hate speech.
If you are worried about your privacy, the bill includes penalties for breach of data privacy laws. If a telco firm, employee, agent, or reseller discloses information about you, they will have a PHP 200K penalty.
What are your insights about this SIM Card and social media registration bill? Do you agree or not?
