House body eyes social media regulation laws

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MANILA, Philippines — The three committees of the House of Representatives that probed online disinformation and fake news has recommended legislation that would require foreign-based social media platforms, like Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, to maintain offices in the country as a regulatory measure.

The recommendation was in the report of the committees on public order and safety, public information, and information and communications technology after their investigation into the proliferation of disinformation and fake news on social media.

In its report adopted by the plenary late Tuesday, the tri-committee, led by Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez who also chairs the public order and safety committee, said the lack of local headquarters here by platforms like Facebook, TikTok and YouTube “mak[es] it extremely difficult for government agencies to demand accountability or swiftly coordinate in the takedown of harmful content. Meta’s public policy director, Rafael Frankel, confirmed just as much during one of the tri-committee’s hearings last May, though he had assured lawmakers the company placed precedence on local laws except only when the issues are jurisdictional, such as in cases involving data disclosure.

READ: House issues show cause orders vs PH offices of Facebook, TikTok

Slow turnaround time

For lawmakers, however, the issue is there is no Philippine-based entity that “may be held directly liable for potential abuses on its platforms within the country,” the report said.

This has frustrated both the government and civil society leaders who complain about the platform’s slow turnaround time when it comes to takedown requests against falsehoods and Red-tagging posts, and its inability to completely curb instances of cybercrimes and “trolling behavior” in the country.

However, the “absence of a local office results in significant delays and jurisdictional gray areas, hampering enforcement and eroding public trust in regulatory safeguards,” Fernandez said in his sponsorship speech.

The committee recommended that the government should not only require platforms to open offices and store data here, but to mandate them to comply with content takedown, correction and blocking orders issued by Philippine authorities.

The panel pushed for stronger compliance mechanisms and legal requirements for platforms to disclose earnings generated from Philippine-based users and advertisers.

The findings also urged Congress to strengthen the tax monitoring capabilities of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, noting that many influencers profiting from disinformation evade taxes because platform-held income data remains inaccessible due to a lack of cross-border data-sharing agreements.

The report also called for the criminalization of the establishment and financing of troll farms, especially those that push foreign-backed campaigns hostile to Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.

In his speech, Fernandez pointed to InfinitUs Marketing Solutions Inc. as a case of suspected foreign disinformation operations.

“This matter warrants further and immediate investigation due to its potential implications on national security,” he said. /cb