House bill seeks penalties for creating, spreading 'fake news'

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr delivers his first State of the Nation address at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on July 25, 2022.

Aaron Favila via AFP / pool

MANILA, Philippines — A bill has been filed at the House of Representatives pushing for the criminalization of the "creation and dissemination" of "fake news" — the common term for misinformation and disinformation. 

In filing House Bill No. 2971, Reps. Josephine Lacson-Noel (Malabon) and Florencio Gabriel Noel (An Waray party-list) sought amendments to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 to include a definition for "fake news" which they said refers to "misinformation and disinformation of stories, facts, and news which is presented as a fact, the veracity of which cannot be confirmed, with the purpose of distorting the truth and misleading its audience."

The Cybercrime Prevention Act was subject to petitions at the Supreme Court, which ruled parts of it unconstitutional. The law's provision on cyber libel carries harsher penalties and a longer prescriptive period than regular libel.

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/08/08/2201195/house-bill-seeks-penalties-creating-spreading-fake-news