Social media: To post or not to post
Another protective but limited shield is given to fair commentaries on matters of public interest in which the comments made are about a public officer, in relation to such public officer’s work, and the person making the comment does not know that his comment is false or has not recklessly disregarded looking into whether the comment contains false statements.
Published in Daily Tribune on November 20, 2020
by: Vanessa Arrha A. De Leon
Social media, as defined in the Oxford Dictionary, are websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.
These are the websites or apps we use every day to keep up and connect with others like Facebook, Instagram, and the like. As our Internet connectivity has increased and the technologies have improved, we see more people getting access to social media and the avenues for expression it offers. The ability to influence countless people by posting personal content, ranging from text and pictures to videos, has become as easy and as fast as a snap of a finger. However, while this increased connectivity offers us many advantages, this phenomenon comes with certain dangers.
For one, social media have made it easier for people to inadvertently post defamatory content, whether in the form of an online comment or post. This usually happens when people express their frustration online over a situation that upsets them. While seemingly harmless, the mere act of posting becomes problematic and illegal when such post includes content about another person’s acts, omissions, condition, status, or circumstance, which tends to discredit the person in the reader’s or viewer’s perception.
Such a post, whether inadvertently made or not, is punishable under Philippine laws. The Revised Penal Code of the Philippines (RPC), in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (RA 10175), punishes a person who imputes upon another, on any social media site/app/platform, any crime, vice, or defect or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance which tends to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of such person, or blacken the memory of one who is dead.
The above acts were previously punishable under the RPC as libel, with imprisonment ranging from six months and one day all the way up to four years and two months); or a fine ranging from P200 to P6,000; or both. With the effectivity of RA 10175, the person posting the defamatory comment on social media now becomes liable for cyber libel and may be punished with a longer period of imprisonment.
But then some may ask, what if there is a necessity to post the unsavory truth on social media to reach and inform more people? Is it possible to tell the unpleasant truth about someone or something without the fear of being charged, or worse convicted, of cyber libel?
Philippine criminal laws provide certain but limited shields against cyber libel charges and convictions, in cases where the truth hurts but exposing the same serves a social function.
One of such shields is when the report is fair and true account, made in good faith, without any comments or remarks, of any judicial, legislative, or other official proceedings not of a confidential nature, or of any statement, report or speech delivered in said proceedings, or of any other act performed by public officers in the exercise of their functions. Another protective but limited shield is given to fair commentaries on matters of public interest in which the comments made are about a public officer, in relation to such public officer’s work, and the person making the comment does not know that his comment is false or has not recklessly disregarded looking into whether the comment contains false statements.
While seemingly harmless, the mere act of posting becomes problematic and illegal when such post includes content about another person’s acts, omissions, condition, status, or circumstance, which tends to discredit the person in the reader’s or viewer’s perception.
Any defamatory post or comment, falling outside of these two shields, is no longer protected under our laws and will expose the author to liability for cyber libel, even if the comment is true and justified in the mind of the author.
In such a case, if the author really believes in the validity of his cause and can demonstrate the same, the better course of action would be to withdraw one’s hand from the Post or Share button, and instead consult with a lawyer on the legal avenues he/she can take to address the seeming unfairness of the situation: whether to demand an apology, negotiate a settlement, or file a case to enforce his/her rights.
