The use of videos and recordings of chat logs may be used as evidence in criminal cases and does not violate the right to privacy, according to the Supreme Court (SC).

In a Decision written by Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez, the SC Second Division ruled that as the chat logs and videos were submitted as evidence to assess criminal liability, the right to privacy was not violated.

In the said case of People v. Rodriguez, the SC emphasized that the videos and chat logs were presented as evidence to show Rodriguez’s method of reaching out to foreigners through Skype or Facebook and offering minors for sexual exploitation.

It rejected Rodriguez’s arguments that they were inadmissible for violating his privacy rights.

The police officer in this case used a decoy account to communicate with Rodriguez across various online platforms, recording their correspondence until they set-up entrapment operations.

The Data Privacy Act of 2012 allows the processing of sensitive personal information to determine a person’s criminal liability and to protect the rights and interests of persons in court proceedings, according to the court.

Rodriguez, who is engaged in human trafficking using online platforms, was convicted of qualified trafficking in persons under Anti-Trafficking of Persons Act of 2003.