Privacy in the Philippines

Ipinasa ang Philippine Identification System Act, o PhilSys Act, noong 2018 na may layuning padaliin ang pagbibigay-serbisyo sa publiko at iba pang transaksyon na nangangailangan ng patunay ng pagkakakilanlan. Ngunit anim na …

As the Pacific region is rapidly digitizing and embracing digital transformation, the newly available technology can empower Pacific citizens with greater access to information and networks. However, there is a lack of global…

ID Watch is a monthly digest of news and updates about identification systems in the Philippines. View or download the latest issue of ID Watch by clicking on the image below.

The Philippines is yet again exploring legislation which would require people to link their national identity card or passport to register a SIM card. After similar laws were squashed in shocking fashion earlier this year, ne…

Oh no! Nandito na ang INVADER SIM Katakut-takot na personal data? Jackpot sa hackers yan. At pano na ang anonymity? Pano na ang alte— este, kpop stan accounts mo? Pano na ang mga kapatid nating LGBTQIA na nakasalalay ang kali…

Mandatory SIM card registration poses risks to multiple fundamental human rights. Among others, it will mandate  people to register their social media accounts. Most notably, freedom of expression, as well as the protect…

A Pandemic as Vector for State Surveillance and Other Abuses This comprehensive report documents and analyzes various initiatives introduced by the Philippine government during this public health crisis, particularly those th…

Module 4 – Basic Digital Security https://youtu.be/Utj3opH1yPg Introduction Now that you’ve learned about the right to privacy, as well as the basics of data protection, it’s time to learn about one of the most practica…

Module 3 – Emerging Trends and Issues on Privacy Introduction By this time, you are now armed with a basic understanding of the concepts of Privacy and Data Protection, as well as the key elements of the Philippines’s D…

Module 2 – Introduction to the Data Privacy Act of 2012 Introduction Who are you?  As individuals we are identified based on information that relates to us.  We have our names, date of birth, addresses, photog…

Module 1 – Introduction to Privacy and Data Protection Introduction A proper appreciation of privacy—how it is defined and sometimes classified, as well as how it evolved into a modern-day social concern—is critical for…

EXPOSÉ is an online publication of the Foundation for Media Alternatives that aims to take on current privacy and data protection issues and events in the Philippine context. In this maiden issue, privacy and data protection …

08 July 2020   The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Department of Health (DOH) Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Multisys Technology Corporatio…

Big Data is a breakthrough technology for a lot of companies. It has allowed them to facilitate the real-time processing of massive data sets they have collected from various sources in order to significantly enhance their bu…

Data privacy may be described as the right of an individual to be free from any unauthorized use or access of his or her personal information. This is achieved via a variety of documentary, physical, and/or technical means. T…

The exfiltration of several databases of the Commission on Election (Comelec) via its website two years ago remains as the biggest data breach in Philippine history. The incident involved at least 340 GB worth of stolen data,…

On Wednesday, February 28 2018, the Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) released a briefing paper on the long-standing effort by government to establish a national ID system in the Philippines. The paper, entitled “The Na…

Proposals for a national SIM card registry have been making significant strides in Philippine Congress. Below is a helpful infographic on some of the risks discussed in the paper:

Popular ride-hailing app Uber recently admitted concealing a massive data breach in 2016 that affected up to 57 million of its users (drivers and riders), including Filipinos. While its full extent remains unclear today, the …

The Foundation for Media Alternatives has successfully conducted its first Privacy and Data Protection Workshop for Civil Society and the Academe in Cebu City. The workshop ran from October 26 to 27, 2017 and was attended by …

This article was originally published on 21 August 2017 as a blog entry at Newsbytes Philippines. For years now, legislators and law enforcement agencies, with support from the executive branch, consistently push for a mandat…

11 July 2017 Foundation for Media Alternatives’ statement on a national ID system   Officials of the Department of Finance made headlines recently with the pronouncement that the government plans to earmark PhP2 billion …

In March 2016, the Philippines took global headlines by storm when the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) website was breached and several voters’ databases were leaked online. The breach, popularly referred to as COMELe…

Last week was a busy one for the newly established Department of Information and Communications Technology, as two of its attached agencies organized the first National Data Privacy Summit and the Cybersecurity Summit separat…

Foundation for Media Alternatives, in partnership with the Commission on Human Rights and with the cooperation of the National Privacy Commission and the Department of Information and Communications Technology,  conducted its…

With a history immersed in years of colonialism and tainted by martial law, Philippine society is no stranger to surveillance. Even now, tales of past regimes tracking their citizens’ every move find their way into people’s e…

COMMUNICATIONS LANDSCAPE The Philippines has a total population of over 100 million people[1] and was estimated to reach 101.6 million in 2015. The country had a national internet penetration figure of around 40 % in 2014.[2]…