MANILA: The Philippine Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a controversial cyber crime law penalising online libel is constitutional, amid claims it is intended to curb Internet freedom in one of Asia’s most freewheeling democracies.
The court said a section of the Cyber Crime Protection Law “which penalises online or cyber libel is not unconstitutional”, spokesman Theodore Te said.
However the ruling would only cover the original sender of the allegedly libellous material and not the recipients, Te said.
The law was passed in 2012, but the high court suspended its implementation after various groups sued to have it declared constitutional.
Neri Colmenares, a congressman who was among those who challenged the law, said they may appeal the ruling. “The government should not be the prosecutor of stained reputations,” Colmenares said, branding it a “draconian law”.
“No one should go to prison just for expressing oneself, specially on the Internet, where people express their frustration with government,” he said. President Benigno Aquino signed the law in 2012 to stamp out cyber crimes such as fraud, identity theft, spamming and child pornography.
But opponents quickly said it gave the government wide powers to curb freedoms on the Internet due to provisions that impose heavy prison terms for online libel. The law also gives the state power to shut down websites and monitor online activities. AFP
