DICT wants socmed sites to get congress franchise

MANILA, Philippines — Tech giants like Meta Platforms Inc. may soon need to secure a legislative franchise before they can offer digital platforms such as Facebook and Messenger to Filipinos.

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda favors the imposition of stricter rules on the entry of online platforms in the country in the wake of tragic events believed to have been caused by their negligence.

Aguda, who had a dialogue with Meta representatives in August, said it’s time for regulators to treat digital channels like Facebook as broadcasting systems.

As such, he supports the passage of measures mandating digital outlets, particularly social media networks, to secure a congressional franchise. This way, Aguda said the government could force online platforms to fully comply with local laws.

Aguda said online sites like Facebook are facing growing scrutiny from several governments. In August, Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion in the United States to cover civil cases over teenage addiction to Facebook and Instagram.

The settlement ended a federal trial against Meta’s products that allegedly resulted in social media addiction for children.

Apart from this, Poland is asking the European Commission to slap a $291-million fine on Meta, accusing the developer of failing to curb fraudulent ads on its social media networks.

In the Philippines, Aguda said Facebook is to be blamed for failing to block violent content seen as influential in the series of deadly school shootings in Tacloban, Zamboanga and South Cotabato.

Aguda favors the passage of measures like House Bill 4786 or the Social Media Platform Franchise Act. HB 4786 treats social media sites like Facebook as broadcasting channels, needing to secure a legislative franchise prior to operating here.

HB 4786 will also mandate digital platforms to establish a local office with a designated country representative. It will require the creation of a grievance redress system accessible to Filipinos.

For now, the DICT is waiting for Meta to sign a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening protection measures for the youth.

The memorandum outlines a series of measures that the Philippines wants Meta to comply with to improve content regulation and safety features for young Filipino users.