On February 2, the Senate and the House of Representatives endorsed the now ratified “SIM Card Registration Act” to Malacañang.
The legislation was said to be aimed at eradicating criminal activities and terrorism by mandating all social media users to register their legal identities when creating new accounts.
But while it awaits the approval of the President, several science and ICT groups and STEM practitioners expressed their concerns over the privacy risks the proposed law may inflict on the public.
Violates Rights to Privacy
In a joint statement, AGHAM—Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, and the Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU) stated that the said bill does not offer a genuine solution to counter cybercrime, rather it limits the citizen’s right to privacy and make them vulnerable to data breaches.
The possibility of establishing a centralized database server for the SIM Card Register creates opportunities for social media providers or entities to profit off of user data by selling it to private companies, even without the individual’s consent.
Furthermore, this act may remove the anonymity of “journalists, witnesses and whistleblowers, activists, human rights defenders, government critics, and victims of domestic abuse and violence against women and children” and expose them to threats and harassment.
“The enumerated provisions will not achieve their intended goal of eliminating illegal activities due to numerous loopholes which can be exploited by bad actors,” CPU added.
The groups also lamented how the said bill disallows usage of fictitious identities or pseudonyms on the internet. In essence, it criminalizes artists, writers, LGBTQI members, and others who wish to use pen names for privacy.
“Even the leaders who shaped our nation’s identity made use of fictitious names to freely express themselves: Jose Rizal (Laong Laan, Dimasalang) … and many others. In essence, were our heroes alive today, the state would be branding them as criminals,” CPU pointed out.
Government not well-equipped
Lawmakers said that the obtained information in the registration process is protected and cannot be disclosed publicly. However, the groups deemed the bill “ineffective” in protecting user data.
According to AGHAM, the government has been incompetent in safeguarding the people’s data and even its own systems, which have been hacked multiple times over the recent years.
Just recently, a claim on the alleged hacking and data breaching at the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) system has surfaced. The attackers allegedly downloaded over 60 GB of data including the usernames and PINs of vote-counting machines.
However, after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) probed its initial investigation, COMELEC spokesman James Jimenez was quick to dismiss and deny the hacking incident.
“From a cybersecurity perspective, the law is creating additional vulnerabilities for individuals because of the potential for data breaches,” CPU explained.
AGHAM also argued the questionable execution of the bill to the 75.4 million unique mobile SIM card users in the six-month period stated in the bill despite the looming repercussions brought by the government’s poor handling of COVID-19.
Ineffective, flawed, and vague
In 2018, the Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) released an 8-page position paper opposing the mandatory SIM card registration, stating that such a policy is flawed and ineffective.
“Its role in law enforcement, particularly when combating crime and terrorism, is often cited by proponents as sufficient justification for its adoption even sans solid empirical evidence,” FMA stated.
There have been several foreign precedents cited by the said organization that hinted at the ineffectiveness of such a system like how Mexico repealed the same law after no visible improvement in crime prevention. Moreover, in Pakistan when terrorists find a loophole to the said law by using SIM cards of innocent citizens to conceal the former’s real identities.
On February 18, FMA presented five-pointers on their objection to the policy as part of their call to the government to discard the said bill:
- The theory that SIM card registration is a boon for law enforcement has been consistently debunked across jurisdictions.
- The potential for abuse and function creep is high, especially when it comes to the use of the registration information for surveillance.
- The mandatory registration of social media accounts prevents internet users from exercising their right to anonymity, and, for some, even their ability to express themselves and freely associate with others.
- The measure imposes unnecessary burden on mobile phone users and third-party resellers, which consist mainly of small businesses.
- The proposal seeks to establish another massive database that immediately presents itself as a major security risk.
According to CPU, the proposed law is “overly vague” in the context of “social media” as it does not provide a clear distinction on personal blogs that are part of free speech against trolling or fake news.
Furthermore, AGHAM decries the possibility of weaponizing the SIM Card Registration Act, along with the Anti-Terror Law where a harmless government critic can be labeled as a terrorist.
With the bill excluding law enforcement from being penalized to conduct spoofing (pretending to be someone else on the internet), Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) can freely monitor anyone online, even ordinary citizens.
Abuse of power could happen “given the record of the state’s human rights violations and attacks on freedom of expression perpetrated by law enforcement agencies,” AGHAM added.
With this, CPU, AGHAM, FMA, and multiple organizations and individuals urged the head of state to veto the Philippine SIM Card and Social Media Act.
Currently, CPU along with AGHAM launched an online petition to junk this bill, and as of writing, the petition has garnered a total of 299 signatures.
“Our safety and security must not come at the cost of our rights to privacy and anonymity. We must defend our rights and fight this bill! We call on President Rodrigo Duterte to veto the SIM Card Registration Bill before it lapses into law!” CPU and AGHAM said.
