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Philippines eyes compulsory social media user verification

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said the policy, now under review by the department’s policy and legal teams, could be implemented through a department order as early as next week.

Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippine Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) plans to require all social media users in the country to undergo identity verification, meant to curb online abuse, but which has drawn criticism from digital rights and privacy advocates.

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said the policy, now under review by the department’s policy and legal teams, could be implemented through a department order as early as next week.

Aguda said the measure will make it easier to trace individuals involved in cybercrimes, harassment, defamation, and other online offences.

However, Winthrop Yu of Internet Society Philippines said large-scale collection of personal data creates serious vulnerabilities and exposes everyone to serious harms, from profiling, identity theft, and more.

Meanwhile, Democracy.Net.PH said the proposal is dangerous and unnecessary, arguing that even the world’s largest technology firms have failed to secure massive user databases./.

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#Philippine Department of Information and Communications Technology #social media #Internet Society Philippines #Philippine Philippines
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