/ -
EIG H TEEN TH  C O N G R ESS O F T H E  } 
REPUBLIC O F T H E PH IL IPPIN ES 
}
F ir s t R e g u la r  S e s s io n  
}
S 
E N  A T  
S.B . No.
1 
: ii
•19 JUl -1 A 9 -47
INTRODUCED BY SEN A TO R V IC EN TE C. SO TTO  III
AN ACT
PR O H IB ITIN G  T H E  PUBLICATION AND PR O LIFER A TIO N  O F FALSE 
CONTENT ON T H E  PH IL IPPIN E IN TER N ET, PRO V ID IN G  M EA SU RES 
TO  COUNTERACT IT S E F FE C T S AND PR ESC R IB IN G  PEN ALTIES
T H E R E FO R
EXPLANATORY N O TE
T he in te rn e t is a  v a st rep o sito ry  of inform ation. W ith o u t a  d o u b t, 
m o st of u s  heavily rely o n  it to th e  p o in t th a t its influence h a s  becom e 
deeply em b ed d ed  in o u r daily lives. B u t n o t all we see o n  th e  in te rn e t 
re p re se n ts  th e  tru th . F alse in fo rm atio n  c o n tin u e s to c irc u late  a n d  is 
b ecom ing 
p re v a len t 
o n  
th e  
in te rn e t 
globally. 
In 
th e  
P hilippines, 
w id esp read  a re  h e ad lin es th a t a re  m ere click -b aits; m ad e u p  q u o te s 
a ttrib u te d  to p ro m in e n t figures; a n d  digitally a lte red  p h o to s. Filipinos 
have fallen prey to believing th a t m o st of th em  a re  credible new s.
In th e  recen tly  held  m id term  electio n s, a  video show ing a  p re ­
sh a d e d  ballot w en t viral. M any have seen , liked, sh a re d , a n d  gave th e ir 
in fu ria te d  c o m m e n ts a b o u t it. It ra ised  d o u b ts  a s  to th e  in teg rity  of th e  
a u to m a te d  election sy stem . O nly to find o u t th a t it w as a  hoax. U pon 
in v estig ation, it tu rn e d  o u t to be a  stag ed  video a n d  th e  ballot u s e d  w as


n o t th e  oflicial b a llo t.1 In th e  U .S., a  “d eep  fake” o r d o cto red  video 
fe a tu rin g  a  c o m p u te r-g e n e ra te d  im age of F aceb o o k ’s M ark Z u ck erb erg  
h a s  gone viral o n  In sta g ra m . Footage of h is body from  a  p a s t video w as 
m erged w ith th e  said  im age th e n  su p erim p o se d  o n  its a u d io  is th e  voice 
of a n  a c to r.1 2 E vidently, a d v an c e m en t in technology h a s  its dow nside. It 
p o ses th re a ts  a n d  c a n  be th e  su b je c t of a b u se s. It c a n  be d a n g e ro u s 
w h en  u s e d  a s  a  tool to m a n ip u la te  in fo rm atio n , p a rtic u la rly  th o se  th a t 
a re  of n a tio n a l im p o rtan ce.
W hile it is tru e  th a t freedom  of e x p ressio n  a n d  th e  p re ss are 
p ro tected  rig h ts, it is n o t a b so lu te  u n d e r all c irc u m sta n c e s. T he u s e  of 
th e se  rig h ts to c a u se  d isin fo rm atio n  a n d  division is a n  a b u se  of 
dem ocracy.
In th is  reg ard , th is  bill see k s to p ro te c t th e  p u b lic from  th e  
d e leterio u s effects of false a n d  deceiving c o n te n t online. It a im s to a tta in  
th is objective by providing ex p ed ien t rem ed ies th a t w ould a d d re ss  th is 
grow ing co n cern . T his legislation also  e n u m e ra te s  p a rtic u la r a c ts  th a t 
a re  c o n sid ered  p u n ish a b le  to fu rth e r serve a s  a  d e te rre n t. Lastly, it seek s 
to p ro m o te th e  resp o n sib le u se  of th e  in te rn e t.
In view of th e  foregoing, th e  ap p ro v al of th is bill is e a rn e stly  
so u g h t.
V IC EN TE C. SO TTO  III
Senator
1 https: / /new sinfo.inquirer.net/1113085/obviously-staged-says-com elec-exec-on-video- 
show ing-pre-shaded-ballots
2 h ttp ://fo rtu n e .e o m /2 0 1 9 /0 6 / 12/deepfake-m ark-zuckerberg/


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE } 
r e p u b l ic  o f  THE PHILIPPINES 
}
F irs t R e g u la r S essio n  
}
S E N A T E
9
S.B. No.
•19 
J!JL -1 A 9 •47
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR VICENTE C. SOTTO III * 1 1
AN ACT
PROHIBITING THE PUBLICATION AND PROLIFERATION OF FALSE 
CONTENT ON THE PHILH>PINE INTERNET, PROVIDING MEASURES TO 
COUNTERACT ITS EFFECTS AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES
THEREFOR
Be enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines m 
Congress assembled:
1 
SECTION 1. T itle. -  This Act shall be know n an d  referred to as the “Anti-
2 
False C ontent Act”.
3 
SECTION 2. D e c la ra tio n  o f Policy. -  The State recognizes the vital role of
4 
com m unication an d  inform ation in nation-building. It shall be declared the
5 
policy of the S tate to protect the public from any m isleading or false
6 
inform ation th a t is being published and h a s becom e prevalent on the
7 
Internet.
8 
To th is end, th e S tate shali be proactive in preventing further
9 
exploitation of online m edia platform s for su ch  purpose. It shall be
10 
com m itted to counteracting its concom itant prejudicial effects to pubUc
11 
in terest whUe rem aining cognizant of the people's fundam ental rights to
12 
freedom  of speech an d  freedom  of the press.


1 
SECTION 3. D efin itio n  o f Term s. -  W henever u sed  in th is Act, the following
2 
term s shall have the respective m eanings a s set forth hereafter.
3 
(a) Publication shall refer to the act of uploading content on an  online
4 
interm ediary w ith an  in ten t to circulate particular inform ation to the
5 
public;
6 
(b) Content shall refer to a text, image, audio recording, video, and
7 
anim ation published on th e internet;
8 
(c) Online intermediary shall refer to a provider of service w hich displays
9 
an  index of search resu lts th a t leads the in tern et u sers to a specific
10 
online location, enables them  to access contents originating from third
11 
parties, and allows them  to upload an d  dow nload content. It includes
12 
b u t is n o t lim ited to social netw orking sites, search engines, and video
13 
sharing sites;
14 
(d) Public interest shall refer to anything th a t affects national security,
15 
public health, public safety, public order, public confidence in the 
G overnm ent, and international relations of the Philippines,
17 
(e) Fictitious online account or website shall refer to those th a t h a s an
18 
anonym ous au th o r or u ses a n  assum ed nam e in pu rsu in g  activities
19 
for the purpose of avoiding im punity.
20 
SECTION 4. P u n ish a b le  A cts. -  The following acts shall constitute the
21 
offense punishable u n d er this Act;
22 
(a) C reating a n d /o r publishing on one’s personal online account or
23 
w ebsite a content know ing or having a reasonable belief th a t it
24 
contains inform ation th a t is false or th a t w ould tend to m islead the
25 
public;


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3
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5
6
7
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(b) Use of a fictitious online account or w ebsite in creating a n d /o r 
publishing a content know ing or having a  reasonable belief th a t it 
contains inform ation th a t is false or th a t would tend to m islead the 
public;
(c) Offering or providing one’s service to create a n d /o r publish a content 
online know ing or having a reasonable belief th a t it would be used to 
deceive the public, regardless w hether it is done for profit or not;
(d) Financing a n  activity w hich h a s for its purpose the creation a n d /o r 
publication of a content online containing inform ation th a t is false or 
th a t would tend to m islead the public;
(e) N on-com pliance w ith any of the counteractive m easures provided 
u n d er Section 5 of this Act, w hether deliberate or through negligence.
13
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15
SECTION 5. C o u n te rac tiv e  m e a su re s. -  The D epartm ent of Ju stice (DOJ) 
Office of Cybercrim e shall have the authority to issue the following orders to 
restrain  the com m ission of the offenses punished u n d er this Act:
16
17
18
(a) Rectification O rder -  an  order directing the adm inistrator of the online 
account or w ebsite th a t is either personal or fictitious, to issue a 
notice indicating the necessaiy corrections to the published content.
19
20 
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22
O nline interm ediaries w hose platform  w as u sed  to publish the content 
can also be issued su ch  O rder. It w ould require the particular online 
interm ediary to issue a notice of correction inform ing all its u sers th a t 
the subject content contains m isleading or false inform ation.
23
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(b) Takedow n O rder -  an order directing the ow ner or adm inistrator of the 
online account or w ebsite th a t is either personal or fictitious, to take 
down the published content.


1 
(c) Block Access Order -  an  order directing the online interm ediary to
2 
disable access by u sers to the published content. It is a rem edy
3 
available in cases w here there is a failure to comply w ith the O rders
4 
m entioned in p arag rap h s (a) an d  (b) of this Section due to the fault or
5 
negligence of the adm in istrator or online interrnediary, an d  in cases
6 
w here rectification or taking down of the published content is proven
7 
to be technically im possible.
8 
These O rders shall only be issued w hen there is finding th a t the
9 
com plaint filed to the DOJ Office of Cybercrim e by a n  aggrieved party is
10 
valid and h a s sufficient basis. In m atters affecting the public interest, the
11 
sam e office shall issue motu proprio the appropriate O rder. The rem edies
12 
provided herein are cum ulative an d  the issuance of one shall n o t preclude
13 
or waive the right to u se any or all other rem edies.
14 
SECTION 6. A p p eal to  C an cel th e  O rd e r -  The adm inistrator of a n  online
15 
account or w ebsite and the online interm ediary who h a s been issued w ith
16 
any of the O rders u n d e r Section 5 hereof m ay file a verified petition for
17 
review w ith the Office of the Secretary of the D epartm ent of Ju stic e  w ithin
18 
fifteen (15) days from receipt of the assailed O rder.
19 
SECTION 7. L ia b ility  u n d e r th e  R einsed P e n a l C ode a n d  C ybercrim e
20 
Law . -  Prosecution u n d er this Act shall be w ithout prejudice to any liability
21 
or violation of any provision of the Revised Penal Code an d  Republic Act No.
22 
10175 or the Cybercrim e Prevention Act of 2012.
23 
SECTION 8. P e n a ltie s. -  Any person found guilty of the punishable act
24 
u n d e r Sec. 4 (a) shall be punished w ith im prisonm ent of prision m ayor or a
25 
fine of not m ore th an  Three H undred T housand Pesos (Php300,000.00), or
26 
both;


1 
Any person found guilty of the punishable act u n d er Sec.4 (b) shall be
2 
p u n ish ed w ith im prisonm ent of prision mayor or a fine of not m ore th a n  Five
3 
H undred T housand Pesos (Php500,000.00), or both;
4 
Any person found guilty of the punishable act u n d er Sec. 4 (c) shall be
5 
p u n ish ed  w ith im prisonm ent of prision mayor or a fine of not m ore th an  Two
6 
H undred T housand Pesos (Php200,000.00), or both;
7 
Any person found guUty of th e punishable act u n d er Section 4 (d) shall
8 
suffer the penalty of reclusion temporal or a fine not exceeding O ne Million
9 
Pesos (Php 1,000,000.00), or both;
10 
Any person found guilty of the punishable act u n d er Section 4 (e) shall
11 
suffer the penalty of reclusion temporal or a  fine not exceeding Two Million
12 
Pesos (Php2,000,000.00), or both.
13 
In cases w here the published content underm ines the public interest,
14 
th e m axim um  period for the penalty of im prisonm ent shall be im posed.
15 
SECTION 9. 
J u ris d ic tio n . -  The 
Regional Trial C ourts shall have
16 
jurisdiction over any violation of the provisions of th is Act. R egardless of the
17 
place of com m ission, a Filipino national w ho com m its any of the offenses
18 
defined u n d er this Act shall be w ithin the jurisdiction of the Philippine
19 
courts.
20 
SECTION 10. L aw  E n fo rc em e n t A u th o ritie s. -  The Cybercrim e Division of
21 
the Philippine N ational Police (PNP) an d  of the N ational B ureau of
22 
Investigation (NBI) shall be responsible for the effective enforcem ent of the
23 
provisions of this Act.
24 
SECTION 11. Im p lem e n tin g  R u les a n d  R e g u la tio n s. -  The ICT-DOST,
25 
D epartm ent of Inform ation 
and 
C om m unications Technology 
(DICT),
26 
D epartm ent of Ju stice (DOJ) Cybercrim e Office, Philippine N ational Police


1 
(PNP) Cybercrim e Division and the N ational B ureau of Investigation (NBI)
2 
Cybercrim e Division shall form ulate the rules and regulations necessary for
3 
its effective im plem entation w ithin ninety (90) days from approval of th is
4 
Act.
5 
SECTION 12. S e p a ra b ility  C lause. -  In case any provision of th is Act is
6 
declared invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration shall have no effect in
7 
the validity or constitutionality of the rem aining provisions hereof.
8 
SECTION 13. R ep e a lin g  C lause. — All laws, decrees, rules an d  regulations
9 
inconsistent w ith the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or am ended
10 
accordingly.
11 
SECTION 14. E ffectiin ty . -  This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
12 
publication in the OfQcial G azette or in a new spaper of general circulation.
Approved,