COVID-19 Special Issue Volume 40, Issue 4
rundowns
Surge of fake Facebook accounts feared to sow harmful disinformation Mecaela Mae GUMADE
T
housands of Facebook users, including some students and faculty members of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), clamor against the sudden proliferation of impostor accounts on the social media giant last June. Surge of these fake accounts alarmed netizens as these profiles, which are commonly empty aside from bearing the names and sometimes even have few photos of the original users, may sow false information. Adding to the unrest are reports that some users receive death threats from their poser accounts. The rise of dummy accounts first came into light when Tug-ani, the official student publication of University of the Philippines-Cebu, found several profiles bearing the names of arrested student activists that surfaced days after their initially peaceful protest to junk the railroaded Anti-Terrorism Bill last June 05, 2020. In a statement, the UP System assured their students, faculty, and alumni that their data protection officer had tapped the National Privacy Commission (NPC) for help in reporting fake accounts directly to Facebook. These cloned accounts further peak in number in the succeeding days, affecting students from other universities, as well as journalists, activists, personalities, and active Facebook users. Several other university officials urged their communities to remain vigilant from fake profiles and advised them to instantly report accounts that seem "inauthentic." Privacy Commissioner Raymund Enriquez Liboro said that despite past complaints regarding fake accounts, this large-scale surge of profiles is unusual. NPC already coordinated with Facebook to monitor and report its findings of these multiple dummy profiles. Moreover, the social media giant stated that they are
conducting further investigation and "taking action on any accounts that violate [their] policies." Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that the department's Office of Cybercrime will be conducting its own investigation on the proliferation of fake accounts, in coordination with the counterpart units within the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). However, in an interview with dzMM Teleradyo, NBI Cybercrime Division chief Victor Lorenzo dismissed the surge of fake accounts to be "in all probability, a glitch in the system", stating that it is "very hard to create an account on Facebook these days if you're creating multiple accounts under one ID, one cellphone number, one location." FAKE ACCOUNTS SPECULATED TO SILENCE VOCAL ONLINE GOVERNMENT CRITICS Despite NBI's claim, victims of fake accounts don't believe that it's all that simple, as some of them even received malicious messages from these impostor accounts. Emergence of these fake profiles was first noticed amidst successive days of rampant calls on various social media platforms to junk the railroaded bill, and now ratified, Anti-Terrorism Law. Consequently, these accounts seemingly target students, journalists, activists, and vocal dissenters of ATL as they discovered not just one, but multiple fake profiles bearing their identities. Republic Act No. 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 received tumultuous backlash from numerous groups, organizations, institutions, personalities, and individuals due to what they argued to be an unnecessary law amidst the already dire situation of the ongoing pandemic.
Critics of the said law condemn its seemingly broad and vague terms which are open to abuse, easily accusing and branding anyone as 'terrorists' without undergoing due process. Furthermore, ATL is accused of having unconstitutional provisions and are feared to be used for stifling freedom of expression and the right to dissent. PLM President Emmanuel Leyco released a statement on his official Facebook page last June 07, 2020, that he stands with the academic community and the rest of the Filipino people in rejecting the "Terror Bill." "We need public laws that encourage creative thinking, not stifle it by allowing possible misinterpretations of constitutionally protected exercise of freedoms as a 'terroristic act," he said. The OnePLM alliance, constituting of university's student councils and organizations, released a joint statement in opposition of the ATL before and after its passing. "We call on our lawmakers to withdraw their support from the bill and for the President to veto the AntiTerror Bill. We also enjoin everyone to register their opposition to the Anti-Terror Bill and collectively oppose any future measures that will bank on our civil liberties painstakingly fought by our precedessors!" The alliance also marched along with numerous progressive groups and individuals, joining in the collective call to sack the ATB on the "Grand MaĂąanita" held at the University of the Philippines-Diliman on June 12. Despite the legislation of the ATB into law last July 03, the outcry of various nationwide sectors to repeal it further amplified. As of this writing, the ATL is being persistently challenged, with over 29 petitions calling for it to be vetoed already filed in the Supreme Court.
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