“MAGNA CARTA FOR INTERNET FREEDOM, HOW CAN THIS SENATE BILL NO. 53 BE IMPROVED?”

The Senate Bill No. 53 which was introduced to us to promote Internet freedom all over the Philippines.  These Bill included efforts in increasing public awareness of online censorship, developing and providing circumvention technologies that allow users access to blocked sites and censored information, protecting sites from distributed denial of service attacks, and offering Internet knowledge training for the society.

            This Bill seeks to whether and how furthering the freedom to connect and be open can empower individuals, public officials, government, government offices, private offices, to make the government accountable to its citizens and private individuals accountable to the government and its officials as well, and thus it shall integrate citizens like us into giving recommendations to improve such Bill.

            In order to make improvements and recommendations to the said Bill, we are inclined to read further the said Bill and answer these questions, we shall examined how access to information online may affect freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and to cast our meaningful vote in the coming elections because of such internet freedom introduced in the social media forum, in which it shall define the dimensions of political freedom, and internet freedom.  Individuals we therefore shall focus who may benefit from Internet Freedom: Internet users, net users and cyber activists.

            First shall be the media, who is the primary source of information and who only occasionally browse the web and rarely check the emails unlike us the individual citizens. The second shall be the net users, which comprises those for whom the Internet has become the integral part of their daily activities, in which like us, we do regularly browse online news sources, ideas, bloggs, tweets, messages, posts daily and actively engage in online discourse. The last shall be the cyber activists, those who use the internet to mobilize people or individuals behind a specific concept, ideas, bloggs, and specific cause or to advance a specific agenda.

            The mobilizing potential of the Internet worldwide was severely curtailed some countries tight censorship of online content, in which some countries banned the use of Face book, Twitter, Google and other social medias. In this case, I found such measures of which evidencing that the Internet had visible impact on political freedoms and individual freedoms to voice out and air their views and opinions through this social medias.

            The expansion of social media and mobilization ahs sought to improve the quality of service providers. The empowerment provided by the Internet was not uniform across different segments of our societies.  More individuals were likely to respond to social pressures from better educated and more affluent individuals, while ignoring similar demands from the poorer, rural citizens, a poorer, less developed province who raised similar environmental concerns on the use of the Internet freedom.

            Perhaps, Internet freedom may lead to uneven expansion of voice, vote and assembly across the different segments of society because more influential groups will also be more likely to have connection to the Internet.

            So how can we Improve the Magna Carta for Internet Freedom now, , well , we have constantly joined the chorus of the voice of the people from all walks of  life and all over the world in calling upon all governments to uphold the right of all individuals to use information and communications technologies such as the Internet without fear of any curtailment of our rights.

            Up to this era, in the introduction of the Magna Carta for Internet Freedom, we commit to the continuing struggle for the advancement of human rights, and support the calls for the movement for Internet Freedom in the Philippines such as the SB 53 known as the MCIF or the Magna Carta for Internet Freedom:

1.       Further Study and enhancement of the Cyber crime Law

2.       Individuals, Private Citizens should have the proper participation in the manifestation and introduction in the policies which shall seek and govern or regulate the internet, to which shall safeguard the internet freedom

3.       The acknowledgement and respect of the private sector of our human rights.

These proponents shall adhere to the democracy in the introduction and acceptance

of the will of the people towards globalization and Internet freedom.  We shall be aware of the constant change in the ITC world, introduction of different social medias in which there should be proper filtering of those and such enhancement should be part of the Improvements in the MCIF. This MCIF has broadened our awareness with what was wrong with Republic Act No. 10175.  We are then brought together in our expertise in the technology, our advocacy of our civil rights and constitutional rights and what we call advocacy of freedom.

            The Magna Carta for Internet Freedom ( MCIF ) are narrow, specific and clear in what they seek to prohibit.  The MCIF restricts not only the conduct necessary to prevent the wrongdoings we want to prevent,  This shall be what to be expected, this what is required of a law, any law, that affects our most and fundamental freedoms.

            To enact a law affecting us, by the use of technology but such we are all aware o the penalties of crimes distinctive of the point.  A proponent of law on the internet and ICT cannot exist in a vacuum; the protection and promotion of rights and freedoms requires a more incorporating approach than what is defined in the Cyber crime Prevention Act.

            The Four Important Pillars of the Magna Carta for Internet Freedom are Rights, Governance, Development and Security.

            The MCIF Rights promotes civil and political rights and it upholds and promotes Constitutional guarantees in cyberspace, that the Constitution is our foundation as citizens of the Philippines and equally as Filipino netizens in cyberspace.  Our rights online are our rights offline.

            The MCIF Governance provides for ICT governance that is anchored on Constitutional principles.  It shall make it clear that the state shall take full responsibility to ensure that the governance of the Philippine ICT framework in keeping with the ideals and aspirations of the Filipino people. It shall be through transparency and open governance advocacy of the administration which is well represented in the MCIF.

           

            The MCIF Development promotes the development of ICT in the Philippines.  The use of the Internet and ICT enabled the productivity of our country and other neighboring country as well in which we deal of and it thus created more jobs for the people or citizens of the Philippines.  This Internet and ICT has boosts our connectivity to the employment growth rate and advancement.

            The MCIF Security protects the people both online and offline.  Whether the threats come from the evils of the cyberspace or any internet actors and actresses.  The MCIF provides the mandate and the means for our leaders in the society to defend each and everyone from the threats present in the cyberspace.  With the leveling of the playing field that cyberspace grants, we must also learn how to defend our country and we shall all have the ability to defend ourselves in the cyberspace battlefield.

            The MCIF takes a big leap in the recognition of our rights, our need for our country to advance economically and our need and desire for more faster and reliable ICT services as what we pay for the broadband connection, well worth of the pay we adhere, our leaders in which we voted to thrusts for transparency and open governance to all government entities specifically the Department of Justice and the Supreme Court, to keep us safe and protected from the people n the cyberspace. 

            The MCIF as per experience and what was discussed in our class by Atty Bernes Guerrero, it is true that some of our data are being used to their advantage, specifically our personal data.  The list of Improvements in which I had cited, that individually as private citizens should be protected from this data gathering most specifically when we apply for bank accounts, internet connections, cable connections, cellular connections, applications in our loans, that these shall not be given to their affiliates.  Restrict them from ensuing any promotions and then manipulating us from any unbearable questions and answers from this ignorant call center agents who kept on disturbing our peace in this world of ours.  How many times in a day would each and everyone of us received calls, messages, spasm, in our email and cell number and even our private lines offering all sorts of promotions.

            We should introduce the system that numbers or any contact details should be secured from people or affiliates of such companies like banks, government entities, private institutions, so as to allow our privacy and security in which sometimes will harm us individually and even our family and family members from syndicates and cyberspace criminal.

            We should also study and further enhance the proper system and the advantages of the Cyber crime Law from the MCIF.  We should look on the sections on the provisions of the law that may be repealed so as that we could be more aware of the redundancy of the said provisions. 

            We should be given the proper acknowledgment that we should participate in the crafting of the law.  Be involved in the manifestation of any additional mandate, provisions to enhance the MCIF and that be given the opportunity that will really evolve the true need of our rights, freedom, security and protection in the cyberspace.  Because we are the ones who are more inclined in the usage of the internet in our daily lives.  We always spend almost more than what should we devote in searching, rather we are always aware in chatting, browsing from time to time in our social medias like the face book, twitter, instagram, viber, we chat etc.  

The MCIF guaranteed a host of other freedoms.  Thus the Senate Bill 3327 or also know as the Magna Carta for Internet Freedom.

As per Senator Santiago, it has been involved by a group of software designers, IT specialists, academics, bloggers, engineers, lawyers, human rights advocates were all involved in the drafting of the said MCIF and thus it had been formulated the draft bill through enormous discussions on the social media forums like the Face book groups

, emails, googles, and twitter.

            In the RA 10175, as per the right to privacy and the constitutional guarantee against illegal search and seizure through allowing the warrant less real time collection while the MCIF on the other hand guarantees the right against illegal searches and seizures.

            The MCIF ensures due process by providing strict guidelines for any collection of any data, including the securing of warrants, obligating notifications. And limiting seizure to data and excluding physical property.

            The MCIF mandates government agencies to provide security for the data they collect from citizens to ensure their right to privacy.  In the RA 10175, where the government may have a website or network blocked or restricted without due process of law, to which should be specifically taken down into more study in order that this should be taken in the improvement and it thus section or clause is not covered by the MCIF.  This is one of the important points to which there’s a need to introduce this in the MCIF.

            The MCIF provides for court proceedings in cases where websites or networks are to be taken down and prohibits censorship of content without a court order.  This will provide a proper venue or jurisdiction on the said issues and will therefore declog our judicial then. 

            The MCIF prohibits double jeopardy while the RA 10175 allows it through prosecution of offenses committed against its provisions and prosecution of offenses committed against the Revised Penal Code and special laws, even though the offenses are from a single act.

            It shall therefore be concluded that as per initial introduction of the MCIF to the people and upon subsequent discussions by our teacher Atty Bernes Guerrero with regards to the pros and cons of the Republic Act 10175, as a law student, whose main concern is the upliftment of our Internet Freedom and through which magnified by the provisions in the MCIF, it shall be said and pronounced that RA 10175is too broad and there certain provisions which as discussed to us were violative of our rights, meaning constitutional rights such as the freedom of speech, right to privacy, right to reasonable searches and seizures and the most controversial among all other sections is the Online Libel which is therefore as I see it to be vague.  This said MCIF is the first law to be crafted through crowd sourcing by which using the social media and tapping people on the internet for their voluntariness to execute their views and opinions in the said law via Face books groups, Google, Twitter, Bloggs, emails, and data’s collected from what I have said people in the ICT, web developers, lawyers, bloggers, internet groups, software designers, information technology experts, academics, engineers, and human rights advocates who contributed with the said senator to draft the said MCIF.

            Our country needs a more effective cyber laws because information and communications technology and the Internet are the grounds for the economic development of our country as well as the globalization, or rather worldwide too.

            The business  process outsourcing industry, the information technology outsourcing industry and all other outsourcing industries have contributed so much to the growth of our country in terms of revenue and had contributed in the growth of our domestic products worldwide through the internet.  So it must be cited that cyber law should be further be enhanced, studied, cultivated because in everyday’s process in our lives, we are growing each day through our system of technology.  There should be researchers that would further examined the development of new ideas, programs, provisions of the laws that will benefit each and everyone, and thus be guarded from people who are very much manipulative of the system of technology through hacking, bullying, and all other means to extract data and money from innocent being here in our country and those from our neighboring countries as well.

______________________________________________________________________________

Sources/ Researches : Magna Carta For Phillippine Internet Freedom ( Full Text Pdf )

                Our rights online and offline by the ABS-CBS News

                Web Founder Berners Lee call for online of the MCIF

                 Discussion from Technology and The Law Under RA 10175 by Atty. Guerrero

                  Pros Cons of the MCIF by Sunstar