Cyber-libel thing

Though I’m an internet user, I am not really that interested in the newly implemented anti-cyber crime law because I consider myself a law abiding citizen with no intention of engaging in any cyber crime. I mean, I don’t do hacking, phishing, identity theft, cyber sex, etc. All I do on the net is watch video, listen to music, read and share articles, write badly about some stupid stuff, look for weird things on the net,  etc. I mean these things are harmless and no one, I imagine, would persecute me or other people like me for these things.

But then again, I was watching the news when a lawyer, who opposed the libel clause of the law, explained that even the act of liking or sharing what could be considered as libelous stuff on the internet especially on the social media is tantamount to breaking this law, being a party to the crime. Well, that caught my attention because I and most people share stuff on the net openly without really thinking about whether the stuff shared is true, relevant, nice, okay, morally aligned, politically correct, holly and blessed, etc. 

People share stuffs on the net because they maybe interesting, weird, thought provoking, stupid, gory, yucky,  insane whatever and sometimes people “like” stuff on the internet not because they like what was shared but simply because they like the person who shared and sometimes they do not even bother to view or read what they liked. What is worrying is the thought that I or anyone could be --real or hypothetical—charged with libel for sharing or liking some stuff that friends shared for whatever reasons.

Imagine the thought, even if this is just hypothetical, that I could be or anyone charged libel for writing libelous stuff like saying that Senator ______ ______ is a nincompoomp, ignorant, no good do-gooder, for putting that libel thing in the law. (See I could not even put the senator's name for fear of being charged with libel!)

This is taking the fun out of the internet. I don’t go to rallies and carry placards name calling politicians and I do not do burning of effigies (why are these people not charged with any crime, by the way? They burn things, pollute the atmosphere, cause traffic jams, use children to hold placards etc.). I and many of my countrymen and country women and the youth (the elderly) have the net to express our disgusts,  anger, frustrations,  #(&^()*(^&a***_%$, against the government, politicians, and petroleum companies etc. and  we do not burn paper, pollute the environment, or cause traffic…now internet freedom is being policed.

Of course the Department of Justice assured that what the opposers of the new law are saying would not happen that’s why the word “prima facie” was in there. DOJ can not shut down or persecute anyone without prima facie evidence (what in the world is a prima facie evidence and how could they determine it? Keywords?). Have no fear because the DOJ would not just sweep down on sites or arrest anyone for writing or posting or sharing libelous stuff, there are rules and stuff that has to be worked out.

I don’t know much about these things and I try not to think about these legal blah, blah, blah, and I do see the need for this kind of law but I would sure feel better and freer and safer if the good sneators would just scrap that libel thing because then it would really be…hmmm….hmmm…this is stupid: really be more fun surfing the net in the Philippines.

Blah…sue my neighbor.