“If a blogger passes on information that he claims are facts, but which later turn out to be false, we should be able to hold him accountable.”
So said Senator Grace Poe in her opening statement Tuesday at the second hearing on fake news — prompting that bloggers are not above libel laws.
“Some bloggers claimed that their posts were personal expressions or mere opinions and are therefore not subject to a journalist’s code of ethics. In my view, bloggers are not above libel laws,” Poe remarks.
According to Poe, she supports a person’s right to freedom of expression but once a writer defamed the subject of his article, that writer must be held liable in accordance with the law.
“You cannot just attack a person without basis, and then hide behind the skirt of free expression. I think one must have the courage to stand by what he has written and posted publicly,” Poe said.
Poe also stated the authoritarian regimes used public resources to spread misinformation, silence dissent, and slander opponents through social media.
“Government regulation that borders on intimidation and harassment of journalists is another means of suppressing the truth. Let us remember, the constitution gives the people the right to information and protects freedom of the press,” she mentions.
On the other hand, it was proposed to regulate fake news through legislation; however, all the participants expressed their alarm that a new law could lead to censorship.
“Congress cannot legislate thought control. I believe that this destructive and divisive phenomenon can only be addressed by a cocktail of solutions, the most potent of which is through an educated and vigilant citizenry, and a government which must cease to be the greatest enabler of manufactured information,” Poe said.
“We must explore all possible solutions to this new problem that plagues our community,” she added. (Tina Joyce Laceda – PTV)
