The Philippine Supreme Court (SC) issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Tuesday to stop the implementation of the country’s Cybercrime Protection Act of 2012 for 120 days while it decides whether certain provisions violate civil liberties.
The new law was signed by the President Benigno S. Aquino III on September 12, 2012 which aims to combat several Internet-related crimes including child pornography, identity theft, online fraud and illegally accessing computer networks.
Recently many bloggers and social network users are criticizing the new law due to the concern about the law’s provisions related to libel by sharing Facebook and Twitter posts and it can result in imprisonment. There are some street protests, social media campaigns and the hacking of government websites in the country to protest.
by Terry Brown
