The Magna Carta for Philippine Internet Freedom (abbreviated as MCPIF, or #MCPIF for online usage) is an internet law bill filed in the Congress of the Philippines. The bill contains provisions promoting civil and political rights and Constitutional guarantees for Philippine internet users, such as freedom of expression, as well as provisions on information and communications technology (ICT) policy, ICT4D, internet governance, e-governance, cybersecurity, cyberwarfare, cyberterrorism, and cybercrime. The Magna Carta for Philippine Internet Freedom was proposed as an alternative to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 whose enactment was met with mixed reactions. Proponents of the bill claim that the #MCPIF is the first crowdsourced bill in the Philippines. The bill did not pass when 16th Congress went on sine die May 24, 2016. Harry Roque filed the bill as House Bill No. 0666 during the 17th Congress. The bill also did not pass when the 17th Congress went on sine die on May 27, 2019. No legislator had filed the same on the 18th Congress.
Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012
Definition, summary, and history The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (officially filed as Republic Act 10175) is an ICT law that provides legal definitions, provisions, and penalties for offenses ranging from confidentiality, integrity, and availability of computer data and systems such as illegal interference, to content-related acts such as child pornography. President Benigno Aquino III signed the law and was enacted on September 12, 2012. Online debates and campaigns against the law influx, even making it to social media. The hashtag #NoToCyberCrimeLaw started to trend as common internet users became vocal of their opposition and apprehensions towards the law. Early in October 2012, several Philippine government websites such as the Official Gazette, the Senate, and even Senator Tito Sotto's website were targeted by members of the Anonymous hacktivist group from various regions of the world as the Cybercrime Prevention Act took effect. The group launched the operation #OpPhilippines where there was distributed denial of service (DDOS) on these sites, making them inaccessible. A YouTube clip was also released by Anonymous, airing its vocal statement of being against the anti-cybercrime law that ends the freedom of expression of Filipinos. A total of 15 petitions has been filed against the Cybercrime Law at the Supreme Court. On October 9, 2012, the high tribunal of the Supreme Court has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. The TRO initially suspended the entire law for a period of 120 days, but the Court later decided to extend the TRO indefinitely while the justices were working the case. On May 24, 2013, The Department of Justice announced that the contentious online libel provisions of the law were being pushed to be dropped alongside other pending revisions as it awaited the Supreme Court's ruling on its legality.
Precedents to the anti-cybercrime law
Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 Prior to this law, the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 (RA 8792) was enacted to acknowledge that aside from the Article II, Section 24 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution providing that, "The State recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nation-building," information and communications technology was emphasized as an up-to-date addition in the Section 2 of the act which declares,"The State recognizes the vital role of information and communications technology (ICT) in nation-building; the need to create an information-friendly environment which supports and ensures the availability, diversity and affordability of ICT products and services..." There were 4 punishable acts in the law: hacking, introducing viruses to destroy data, pirating intellectual data, and violating The Consumer Act of the Philippines (RA 7394) through electronic messages.
Consumer Act of the Philippines The law was designed to prevent businesses from engaging in fraudulent or specified 'unfair' practices where they gain unwarranted advantage over competitors through the means of deceptive advertising, selling counterfeit products, and the like. The Consumer Act also provided a set of regulated standards for production, distribution, trade, and promotion applicable to traditional media, which can be accessible online.
Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 The Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 (RA 9775) was also a relevant precedent to the law as it was integrated in it to provide a more outlined definition of actions that will be punishable by law. Section 52 of the MCPIF places limits on certain types of speech “inimical to the public interest” where child pornography is filed under. RA 9775 contains provisions protecting the right to privacy of the child through non-disclosure of his/her identity as well as duties and responsibilities of individuals and groups. Those applicable under the MCPIF state that internet service providers (ISP) are responsible for notifying the Philippine National Police (PNP) or the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of any form of activities related or containing child pornography, preserve the evidence for investigation and prosecution purposes, furnish particulars of users who have accesses or attempted to access the content, and ensure access of said content is blocked or filtered. Internet content hosts are also given similar duties.
People vs. Luisa Pineda The Supreme Court of the Philippines in a judgment by Justice Mario Lopez in G.R. No. 262941 (People v. Luisa Pineda, February, 2024) affirmed the lower courts' rulings that found Luisa Pineda guilty of violating the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 and the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 qualified with the use of a computer system (violation of Sections 4(a), (b), and (c) of Republic Act No. (RA) 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, in relation to Section 4(c)(2) of RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012). Pineda was thus sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of reclusion perpetua, a fine of PHP 2,000,000 and PHP 300,000 in civil damages.
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