In 2024, the country marked the 30th anniversary of the Philippine internet. First accessed in 1984, the internet has opened a wealth of opportunities for Filipinos to connect, learn, and access information. But three decades since, it has also shown how technology can deepen existing socio-political crises, especially in the […]

In the past, overseas Filipinos can vote by going to the Philippine Embassy or consulate to cast their votes, or through mail. It was observed however that voter turn-out is way below the number of registered overseas Filipino voters. Overseas Filipinos often face logistical difficulties when voting, arising from the […]

On April 23, the Foundation for Media Alternatives launched the 10-Point Digital Rights Electoral Agenda, bringing together digital rights experts, journalists, and human rights advocates whose insights produced a rich conversation that emphasized the shared responsibility of both aspiring policymakers and the electorate in protecting our digital f…

Continuous Rise of E-commerce While scrolling through social media, it is not uncommon these days to come across advertisements from seemingly well-known stores promoting products with unbelievably huge discounts only to find out that these are impersonators tricking you into entering your bank details and credentials on their fraudulent websites. …

On May 27, 2024, the Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) released the latest iteration of its Digital Rights Report titled “Internet Rights on the Edge: Navigating the Digital Landscape in Chaos,” which delved deep into how technology, especially the Internet, responded to the urgent crises that defined the year 2023.  […]

Months before the turn of 2022, Filipinos already had a sense of what was coming for them. The campaign for the national elections were just starting then, and like any elections before this, the nation was split apart by controversies and false promises. The former president Rodrigo Duterte’s term was […]

This year-end cybercrime and human rights report for 2021 (covering the period of July to December 2021) documents cybercrime cases and developments in the Cybercrime Prevention Act (CPA) and Anti-Terrorism Law (ATL) after the release of the midyear cybercrime and human rights report. In this report, other notable observations related […]

This report is a documentation of what transpired in 2021, specifically how human rights were impacted by technology and digital innovations in the Philippines. While we continue to experience life under the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, we also see new challenges and events such as the emergence of COVID-19 variants, […]

1.     Introduction As the Philippines slowly rolled-out vaccines and breached the 1 million mark for cases—and the 20,000 mark for deaths—of and due to COVID-19 by midyear of 2021, Filipinos struggled to adapt to a life that is mostly moving online, regardless of who it may leave behind. […]

This report is a documentation of what transpired in 2020, specifically how human rights were impacted by technology and digital innovations in the Philippines. The year 2020 was definitely unique given the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought about tremendous change throughout the globe. Effects from the pandemic as well as other […]

Foundation for Media Alternatives in collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communications and the Cyrilla Collaborative is proud to share, “Unshackling Expression: The Philippines Report.” Developed by the Foundation for Media Alternatives, an organization that assists the civil society in the use of ICTs for empowerment, the report lo…

Disinformation Research Survey Report The Foundation for Media Alternatives conducted an online survey as part of a study for the Initiative for Media Freedom project. The purpose of this study is to shed light on the youths’ understanding of issues related to disinformation including how they come across it, its […]

On 20 August 2020, FMA organized an online discussion titled What’s Next for the FOE Advocacy? The discussion was livestreamed to the public via Facebook Live and featured speakers from various sectors, namely, Rep. Carlos Zarate from Bayan Muna Party-List, Ms. Judy Pasimio from In Defense of Human Rights and […]

In an effort to provide online educational opportunities to our networks and business sector, we are excited to announce our first webinar series on business and human rights in the digital environment. This webinar series is brought to you by the Foundation for Media Alternatives and with the support of […]

How does the Covid-19 pandemic impact public health surveillance and our privacy rights? In the Philippines’ national capital region (NCR), military and police enforce a ‘community quarantine’ that restricts human movement in and outside Metro Manila, subject to necessary exceptions. Leaders urge citizens to practice social distancing to avoi…

Here’s what you need to know this week: As the Senate approves on third and final reading the Anti-Terror Bill (formally titled An Act to Prevent, Prohibit, and Penalize Terrorism, Thereby Repealing Republic Act No. 9372, also known as the ‘Human Security Act of 2007’), various groups protest anew its […]

Here’s what you need to know this week: The Philippines is slated to investigate ‘deepfakes’ and how they may affect perceptions of truth, history, and reality, via a resolution filed by Sen. Ralph Recto urging to probe the phenomenon. A ‘deepfake’ is a combination of the words “deep learning” and […]

Upon coming home, she started two businesses in her hometown — a computer shop and a bakery — with all the hard-earned money she saved for almost two decades. Both businesses were eventually ravished by typhoons. Choosing to stay with her kids instead of going back to the Middle East, […]

Every year, Freedom House publishes assessments on global internet freedom. This year, the report is titled “The Crisis of Social Media,” highlighting how social media spaces have been exploited due to lack of regulations in terms of their susceptibility to be utilized as tools for “political distortion and social control.” …

Here’s what you need to know this week: Social networking platform Twitter will ban political ads in its platform starting Nov. 22, according to its CEO Jack Dorsey. The decision in sharp contrast to Facebook’s stance on political ads. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in a recent US Congressional hearing, stated […]

Here’s what you need to know this week: The National Privacy Commission took decisive action when it banned 26 lending apps that unlawfully process lenders’ personal data and publicly shame them for unpaid debts. The NPC ordered the following online lending companies to stop processing personal data: Cash bus, Cash […]

The business case for digital rights: A briefer on the current Philippine digital environment FMA recently published its briefer on business and human rights in the digital environment on September 2019. FMA mapped the policies and practices of ICT companies in the Philippines relating to freedom of expression and right […]

As President Rodrigo Duterte reaches the halfway mark of his regime, he does so within the context of a Philippines struggling to sustain its foothold on its identity as a free, democratic, and peace-loving country. Within three years, the Duterte administration has managed to skew the population’s moral compass, by […]

Transparency and accountability are two foundational principles of democracy. As such, they are well entrenched in the Philippine Constitution, which provides for the right of Filipinos to hold the government and public officials accountable for any or all of their mistakes or shortcomings. The signing of Executive Order (EO) №2 […]

By JV Manglicmot Almost two years into the campaign against illegal drugs, accountability remains to be a problem. With thousands of Filipinos dead and thousands more widowed or orphaned, while rich drug lords remain free and unscathed, the campaign to rid the country of illegal drugs has not only been […]

The Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) expresses grave concern over the decision of Philippine authorities to shut down cell sites during huge festivities. The organization calls for transparency regarding the guidelines used by authorities before resorting to signal jamming. As advocates of human rights and communication rights, FMA believes …

The Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) is one of the signatories of a joint statement on Facebook’s Internal Guideline for Content Moderation, and its impact on women and gender violence. This statement is borne out of the UK-based Guardian publication releasing in late May 2017 “The Facebook Files“, leaked internal documents…

  The Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) on June 28, 2017 held a forum on the State of Open eGovernance in the Philippines. Dr. Randy Tuano from the Ateneo Economics Department, who is also the President of the Board of Trustees of FMA and part of the core research group […]

The Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA), supported by the Making All Voices Count initiative managed by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in the United Kingdom, undertook an Open eGovernance Index project that aims to develop a quantitative tool to gauge the state of eGovernance around the world. There were five countries […]

A new report titled “An Overview of Internet Infrastructure and Governance in the Philippines” was recently released. The research was completed by Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) and The Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. The report outlines the key actors and laws and regulations governing…

There is no time period more challenging yet and at the same time more exciting for governance than when the political environment is in flux. In the Philippines, 2016 marked significant changes as the country transitioned to the Duterte administration. The Duterte era is believed to signal greater transparency in […]

  Internet Rights and Principles: Emerging Policy, Shifting Landscape, a joint activity of the Foundation for Media Alternatives and the Internet Society-Philippines Chapter, was held on 28 November 2016 at the Oracle Hotel and Residences, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. A year ago, FMA launched the PH Declaration on […]

On 04 November 2015, the Philippine Declaration on Internet Rights and Principles was launched after several months of collective drafting and consultations with civil society Internet rights groups and ICT policy community. The initiative for the creation of the Declaration was launched during the Philippine Multi-stakeholder Forum on Internet Gov…