Manila: A long-awaited law punishing cybercrimes has been signed into law by President Benigno Aquino, as a senior lawmaker lauded the long-awaited move.
Senator Edgardo Angara said the approval of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (RA 10175) by Aquino is a milestone as it will enhance the growth of ICT-driven [information and communications technology] economy in the Philippines.
“The passage of the cybercrime bill is timely especially after the recent arrest of an estimated 400 foreign nationals involved in cybercrime which defrauded victims of millions per day,” explained Angara, who authored and sponsored the measure.
Angara, Chair of the Congressional Commission of Science and Technology and Engineering (COMSTE), said: “Existing laws already criminalise certain online activities but now a wider range of internet-driven crimes are covered.”
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According to deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, punishable acts under the new law include offences against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data system, illegal access, illegal interception, data interference, system interference and misuse of devices.
These also include computer-related offences such as computer-related forgery, fraud, and identity theft. Such crimes are rampant on the internet.
Also punishable are content-related offences like cyber sex and child pornography, Valte said.
Aside from these, the new law also punishes unsolicited commercial communications or the so-called practice of “cyber squatting,” she said.
Cyber squatting is defined as the acquisition of a person’s domain name in bad faith to profit, mislead, destroy the reputation and deprive others from registering the same.
The Philippine government classified cyber crimes in the country under two categories: internet crimes and commercial crimes committed with the use of the internet..
Under existing Philippine laws, punishable crimes carried out using the internet include voyeurism (Republic Act 9995); child pornography (RA 9775) and trafficking in persons (RA 9208).
Lauding the approval of the new edict, Angara said: “With this law, we hope to encourage the use of cyberspace for information, recreation, learning and commerce. By protecting all users from abuse and misuse, we enable netizens to use cyberspace more productively.”
Philippine law enforcement agencies had along awaited the law which will punish crimes committed using relatively new technolody. “This measure will deter people from committing crimes because the virtual world will no longer be a lawless realm. Its enactment sends out a strong message to the world that the Philippines is serious about keeping cyberspace safe,” the Senator said.
