The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has expressed its concern over social media giant Facebook’s unilateral act of taking down supposedly fake Philippine accounts that were allegedly linked to the military and police establishments for violating its policy against “coordinated inauthentic behavior”.
"(Because) it was done without prior consultation nor were the administrators of these accounts afforded due process. These pages were private accounts and must enjoy the guarantee of free speech on major issues of social concern under the Philippine Constitution and Philippine laws," Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a statement.
A total of 57 Facebook accounts, 31 pages, and 20 Instagram accounts originating in the Philippines were removed without prior notice nor advice to the administrators of these accounts.
He added that the popular social media platform, which counts the Philippines as one of its biggest markets in the world, has not been transparent in the conduct of its investigation on the questioned Philippine accounts, even if it maintains a large presence in the Philippines.
"We are also concerned with Facebook’s sense of fairness. For example, while it has actively deleted alleged fake pages linked to the military and police, it has surprisingly failed to root out the bots, or automated accounts, that are being maintained by political and armed groups that are actively seeking to overthrow duly constituted authority in the country," he added.
Año said this raises a valid question about Facebook’s commitment to effectively police its own platform and the bias of their advisors.
"While it has taken down alleged pro-government pages, it has allowed unfettered access to hate speech spreaders and purveyors of fake news from Communist Terrorist Groups, for example, who are actively working to bring down our democratic way of life.
We, therefore, urge Facebook officials to hold talks with government counterparts to address the issue, roll back changes, and restore the Facebook pages in question, whenever possible, because recent developments highlight the need for the social media company and government to dialogue to clarify and improve the former's policies in accordance with Philippine laws," he added.
Año added that such action would further reinforce what Mark Zuckerberg has been saying all along – that it’s a marketplace of ideas that brings people together “so they can then share information and ideas about the things that they’re passionate about”.
Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa echoed the DILG chief’s sentiments, saying that Facebook should explain the reasons for the recent takedown of a number of pro-government accounts and pages, even as he denied that he was pushing to ban Facebook in the country.
Dela Rosa admitted the importance of Facebook in the lives of at least 77 million Filipinos who rely on it as a source of information and income, and as a means of communications with their loved ones.
But the former PNP chief called on Facebook to exercise fairness for all its users at all times instead of choosing to listen only to the lobbyists of the anti-government groups.
“Why did they remove only pro-government, anti-communist, anti-terrorism groups ? How about the pro-communist, the anti-government, are you sure they’re not fake accounts? Why don’t you take them down?” Dela Rosa asked.
Saying that he is fair and square, Dela Rosa said that Facebook should not be one-sided in implementing the law.
“As I have said, I don’t want to lose Facebook because I am also a Facebook user, but we should be fair,” Dela Rosa said, who added that Facebook must always adhere to the laws of the land.
The senator explained that he is seeking an inquiry for Facebook to explain the reasons behind the recent censorship to ensure that the Filipinos’ right to freedom of speech and of expression will not be curtailed as well as to tackle the implication of the said censorship to the national security in the country.
He said Facebook’s recent action has a big implication on our national security.
Dela Rosa said the social platform should clarify the grounds for its censorship, particularly sites and pages which Facebook considers as ‘coordinated inauthentic behavior’.
Dela Rosa recently filed Senate Resolution No. 531 urging the Senate to look into Facebook’s recent censorship on some pro-government and anti-communism accounts and pages.
The proposed Senate inquiry, in aid of legislation, was referred to the Committee on Justice and Human Rights and the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media.
Meanwhile, all 1,585 social media pages and networking sites officially owned and maintained by the Philippine National Police remain operational.