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Meta backs Congressional initiatives vs disinformation
MANILA, Philippines — The House tri-committee has cited in contempt and ordered the arrest of four social media personalities for snubbing the subpoena issued to them.
Meanwhile, tech giant Meta, attending yesterday’s tri-comm hearing, pledged to support Congress’ crackdown on fake news online.
On motion by Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Stephen Paduano, those cited in contempt for violation of Section 11, Paragraph A of the internal rules of the tri-comm were Allan Troy “Sass” Rogando Sasot, Mark Anthony Lopez, Lorraine Marie Tablang Badoy-Partosa and Jeffrey Almendras Celiz.
Sasot, Lopez and Badoy were absent despite multiple summons and subpoenas issued for them to attend the hearing. Lopez, who attended a previous hearing, was cited for issuing public statements attacking the committee.
If arrested, Sasot, Badoy and Celiz will be detained at the detention facility of the House until the committee hearing is terminated, while Lopez will be detained for 10 days.
The committee adopted the motion without objection.
Paduano earlier cited Lopez for violating internal rules on undue interference in congressional inquiries.
“Mr. Chairman, with this blog made by Mr. Mark Lopez, this is in violation of once again section 11 paragraph F of our internal rules, undue interference during the proceedings or committee investigation,” he said.
He quoted portions of Lopez’s blog, saying it sought to discredit the panel.
“It was blatantly used that there was a concerted effort to humiliate us and bring us down on our knees,” he read. “Even mainstream media are gleefully celebrating and pouncing on our forced breakdown and takedown in tri-comm hearing,” he read.
Paduano said Lopez had been warned during the previous session.
“I already warned all those resource persons that be cautious not to issue statements maligning, attacking the ongoing investigation,” Paduano said.
Paduano first cited Sasot for repeatedly refusing to attend the hearings.
“Since four (invitations already) and that includes a subpoena ad testificandum for Ms. Sasot, may I respectfully move, Mr. Chairman, that we cite in contempt Ms. Sasot,” Paduano said.
He also moved to have government agencies verify her whereabouts.
Celiz, according to Paduano, was also served multiple notices.
“A subpoena ad testificandum was also issued to Celiz. And an invitation, a show-cause order, a subpoena and a subpoena ad testificandum was issued to him but still he is not present in today’s hearing,” Paduano said.
Badoy was cited in contempt as well, despite submitting travel documents indicating she is in Hong Kong.
The tri-comm is composed of the House committees on public information, public order and safety and information and communications technology.
It is conducting a series of hearings into the role of social media in the coordinated spread of disinformation and narrative manipulation.
The tri-comm approved the issuance of another subpoena to Marijane Quiambao Reyes, Aaron Pena, Ernesto Abines, Jr. and Elmer Hugalbot to attend the next hearing.
Paduano said that Abines and Hugalbot failed to attend yesterday’s hearing due to financial constraint.
“I would like this committee to address the issue of financial capacity of Abines and Hugalbot. Maybe, we will be the one to purchase tickets for them, so that they will be present in the next hearing,” he said.
Paduano also moved for the re-issuance of the unserved subpoena to Catherine Binag, Claire Contreras, Lord Byron Cristobal, Jeffrey Cruz, Alex Distor, Edwin Jamora, Milanose Mawe, Joe Smith Medina, Cyrus Rredlo, Maricar Serrano and Ramon John Balostad.
Fact check
According to Meta’s director of public policy for Southeast Asia Rafael Frankel, vlogger Mark Anthony Lopez, or Mark Lopez, claimed that the Philippine Coast Guard used water cannons against the Chinese Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea, something that was rated false by Meta’s fact-checker.
“As you can see on the left side, this is the fact check, and on the right side, this is how the content that would not appear on our platform with the screen over it and a warning along with the label that explains that this is a false content,” he explained during the hearing.
During a previous tri-comm hearing in March, Lopez admitted to spreading fake news after being grilled by lawmakers.
Meta also said it would support the creation of a Philippine regulatory committee for social media platforms.
“I’d be more than happy for Meta as a company to engage with the Philippine government and Congress on any type of regulations that you are considering when it comes to these issues,” Frankel said.
“I think we have now many years of experience in terms of working with governments around Southeast Asia, Asia Pacific and globally to come up with modalities and regulations that really can help protect users but also protect freedom of expression, that try to properly balance freedom of expression and safety in Meta, (and) of course account for local nuance,” he added.
Meanwhile, in verifying content, Frankel said “we prioritize the most severe harms first. It is not necessarily a first in, first out content moderation system.”
“For example if we see that there are reports of child exploitative imagery, that’s going to jump all the way to the top of the queue. If we see reports of terrorism content, incitement of violence – those types of things – those are going to jump ahead because of the potential to cause harm. That’s the type of process we use,” Frankel said.
“When it comes to misinformation… what we can do is we can send contents for the fact checkers to check or the fact-checkers can do it themselves. They have the ability not to wait for us and to actually check contents on their own. And what we see in the Philippines is they are very robust. I think we have some of the most robust fact-checkers in the world active in the Philippines,” he added.
Meta’s third-party fact-checkers in the Philippines are VERA Files, Rappler and Agence France-Presse.
‘Fake news crisis’
House committee on information and communications technology vice chairman and Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, who presided over the tri-comm hearing, labeled the spread of fake news and misinformation on social media as a crisis that must be addressed.
“The rapid evolution of technology and the rise of digital communication platforms have transformed the way we consume information. While these advancements have brought numerous benefits, they have also facilitated the spread of false narratives, manipulated truths, and an increasingly polarized public discourse,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel warned that these developments are not only damaging to individuals but also to the institutions that support Philippine democracy.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesman on the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela, who testified at the hearing, exposed a “coordinated and malicious” fake news campaign on social media that defends China and aims to discredit the Philippines’ position in the WPS.
Tarriela said two Filipino vloggers – Anna Malindog Uy and Ado Paglinawan – have publicly posted content that amplifies pro-China disinformation.
Another vlogger, Vicente ‘Pebbles” Cunanan, testified at the hearing that the “Polvoron video,” which supposedly showed President Marcos taking illegal drugs, was masterminded by former presidential spokesman Harry Roque.
“Roque said, ‘I can overthrow a government.’ But I don’t believe him because he is now hiding. Part of the plan that I heard is that they want to overthrow the President,” Cunanan said.
Meanwhile, Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop demanded greater accountability from Meta and other social media platforms for the spread of fake news and harmful content.
“It seems from our discussion that social media platforms are making some efforts to curb the spread of fake news in this country. However, I disagree with the impression that acting merely as hosts of user-generated content exempts these platforms from any liability for the harmful content they allow to be exhibited,” he said.
Broadcaster and former vice president Noli de Castro, who attended the hearing as a resource person, also supported calls for greater accountability from social media platforms.
De Castro had been a victim of several fake news, including a hoax in 2021 that claimed he was already dead.
“Fortunately, for us media personalities, the broadcasters, we can correct it immediately on air. But it’s a pity on those who have no means to block or immediately correct the fake news that are coming out against them,” he said.
For his part, former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares slammed the countless lies and red-tagging disseminated on social media, as the group held a protest action at the South Gate of the House of Representatives.
“Red-tagging has endangered lives, silenced dissent and weaponized lies to justify harassment and even murder. Those responsible for spreading fake news and vilifying activists, human rights defenders and journalists must be held to account,” Colmenares said in a statement.
“We are urging Congress to take a firm stand by enacting laws that protect the people from malicious labeling and disinformation. Our democracy depends on the ability of the people to speak, organize, and dissent without fear of being targeted,” he added.
