By Atty. Howie Calleja
There is no pillar of our democracy that is stronger than our right to free speech. This constitutionally-granted right is the catalyst behind our country’s progress and allows us to protect all other rights. The last time Filipinos were limited from expressing their views, a dictator was in power – where we, as a nation, were stuck serving a single man’s vision and were suppressed and oppressed into silence. As we made our way out of that dark era, we fought for our ability to speak freely, and without fear. We recognized that our democracy hinged on the ability to freely trade ideas, and debate on the merits of these ideas. Yet, we cannot forget that our inherent ability to speak on all issues is not a license to harass, intimidate, or malign someone. Your right to express views may be curtailed when it infringes on another’s right to be protected under the law. Ultimately, our duty is to the wellbeing of our country and we must face the consequences if we cause harm to other people. But, how do we demand accountability from those who do not put a face behind their words?
To ensure a community that does not enable harassment or amplifies destructive propaganda, many social media platforms ask their users to agree to certain community standards. Facebook, for example, has rules against “Inauthentic Behavior” – which specifically prohibits people from misrepresenting themselves on Facebook through the use of fake accounts. This has led to the network disabling billions of accounts a year, lest these fake accounts are given a platform to spread lies that they would, ultimately, never be held accountable to. News of “troll armies”, people hired to create thousands of fake social media accounts, are nothing new. In 2016, it was alleged that they were used to influence the general election and, four years later, it is not surprising to see copy-pasted comments all over your Facebook newsfeed, all from accounts with no pictures, friends, or status updates. A wildfire of lies and propaganda can be spread from the faceless, those who wish to claim a right to freedom of speech but cannot claim their own name. The hypocrisy of it all is that those who call the implementation of standards they agreed to “censorship”, are the same people who believe that proposing different policies “destabilizes the government.” The right to be free of censorship is not one that can be asserted only when it benefits the State because, in fact, it is a right that protects us from the abuses of the State.
Senator Bato recently filed a resolution asking the Senate to investigate Facebook for deactivating accounts on their platform, alleging that such an action violated the Filipinos’ right to freedom of expression, as stated in the Bill of Rights. This was directly after Facebook’s Head of Security Policy had issued a statement that the network of accounts that were deactivated was proven to be linked to members of the military and police. It is no wonder that the former PNP chief responded so quickly. Indeed, even our President made no attempt to hide that these profiles were facilitated by his supporters and done with the purpose of spreading his beliefs. In a message to Facebook, he reminded (see: threatened) them that“you cannot bar or prevent me from espousing the objectives of the government.” As I look at all that has happened in the past week, I am reminded of the myth of Medusa; once a beautiful maiden, the goddess Athena transformed her into a monstrous gorgon, who would turn all who look in her eyes into stone. She was eventually defeated when Perseus showed her her own reflection. I wonder what would happen if these public officials were ever forced to face their own hypocrisy, would they too be stunned into silence?
The same people who advocate for a law that produces a chilling effect on our freedom of expression now say that the same right is being threatened. Only, on their part, such an argument is baseless. The restrictions found in the Bill of Rights, forming part of constitutional law, is directed against the State, as a protection against the abuse of power. It is thus, incredulous to use the protections espoused in Article III of our Constitution as a legal basis to protect the leadership’s interests. All this while filing libel cases against dissenters, ignoring the Filipinos’ -those that are brave enough to put their names and faces behind their words- clearly invocable right to critique their elected leaders. The priority of these officials, especially during a global pandemic, to defend their propaganda machine is a clear deviation from the principles of our democracy, which is dependent on truth and accountability, and a pivot towards an autocracy – one that is built on lies and fake news.
After two hundred days of quarantine, we still have not learned our lesson, though one would think that all this time would lead to some introspection. This has never been about being pro or anti-government, but being pro-Filipino. Over the past two hundred days, we have managed to compete with the leaders of our global economy – but only with regard to COVID-19 cases. Our leadership has remained united and fearless, but only when facing the enemy that is ABS-CBN, youth activists, and now Facebook. Our war should be on this merciless virus, but instead, we’re focusing our resources to combat a social media platform. Even if we “win” this fight against Facebook, what are the spoils of war? This is not about the voice of the people, because what was taken by the platform was a network of fake accounts; the rights of the Filipino was never in danger because there was no name to give those rights to. Yet, the reaction of the government -in the valid takedown of a propaganda machine perpetrated by the faceless- only makes apparent that the fake news armies are state-sponsored.
No one can deny that Facebook has become the world’s largest microphone, one that does not discriminate on its user; no matter your socio-economic background, education, or race, anyone can post their ideas. Though we often warn our children of the negative effects and dangers of social media – a time where “cancel culture”, cyberbullying, and “catfishing” are prevalent – we must also remember the positive impact it has had on our society. Living in the age of information, and a time where online platforms become a marketplace of ideas, allows us all to become watchdogs and demand accountability. Social media can, often, rear her ugly head but she only becomes social Medusa once we refuse to reflect on how our actions impact the world outside of our screens. If you can’t even put a name to your actions, how then can you say what you are doing is for the benefit of society? Look in the mirror and see if you are frozen from the hypocrisy you see reflected back at you.