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| Netizens show cyber protest against the controversial RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act) through an all-out "blackout" or replacing their profile pictures with a plain black.
PHILIPPINES - Uproars from national and international netizens and human rights groups immediately followed after the passing of the controversial RA 10175 or The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 which took effect last October 3 after having been approved by the Congress and the President himself. While the law addresses to digital crimes such as child pornography, human trafficking, and other online crimes, clamor sparked after the alleged "insertion" of the libel clause by Sen. Sotto which clearly infringes Filipinos' freedom of expression. In addition, Section 19 of the law authorizes the Department of Justice to issue an order to restrict or block access to "computer data" immediately even without a court order or due process.
Accessnow.org is among several online groups that started campaigns (see picture below) against what has been called as the "Cyber Martial Law". Meanwhile, US-based Freedom House "urges the (Philippine) government "to heed the calls of concerned netizens and repeal several provisions in the bill that could curtail Internet freedom."
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Anonymous Philippines, an underground organization of hackers known to be involved with WikiLeaks and Anonymous International, has made several attacks on government websites throughout the week as protest against the said law. Accordingly, such attacks would continue and would even worsen until the law will be repealed.
However, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago believes that RA 10175 "should be declared unconstitutional and that fellow senators should have read and reviewed the bill first before they approved it." In some twist of events that somehow pacifies the noise from furious protesters, several senators who voted in favor of the law promised to amend it.
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