Last March 2016, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) fell victim to what is now known as one of the biggest government-related breaches in history. This hack on the COMELEC database leaked the personal information of approximately 55 million registered Filipino voters. The incident soon caused widespread concern and public outrage, prompting FMA Read more…
Photo from the Cebu consultation on the DPA IRR courtesy of: HealthInformatics, Inc. The National Privacy Commission (NPC) has submitted for publication the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act No. 10173, or the Data Privacy Act of 2012. Download a copy of the final version promulgated on 24 Read more…
After being appointed in March this year, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) held several rounds of public consultations on the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 10173, or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (DPA). Following a successful, albeit brief consultation during a Philippine Computer Society meeting on June Read more…
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 everyday conversations. This, for the most part, has kept Filipinos vigilant over their hard-earned Read more…
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] Overall, 45 million people are active Internet users,[3] while 32 million are active mobile internet users.[4] The country ranks first Read more…
Introduction Social media[1] serves as the Internet to majority of Filipino online users. Over 80% of the Philippine Internet population uses social media. In Universal McCann’s 2008 Wave 3 study on social media, the Philippines has the highest penetration of social networking among Internet users at 83%, compared with the Read more…
Some time last year, news broke out that U.S. telecommunications giant, AT&T, had suffered a major data breach resulting in unlawful third-party access to its customer records. Estimates put the number of people affected at over 280,000 in total.[1] Sensitive personal information like social security numbers were among the primary Read more…
MANILA, Philippines — “There are equally important public values that must be balanced in this forum: national security, privacy, freedom of the press, and the public’s right to know.” Malou Mangahas, Executive Director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), shared this sentiment as she spoke before an audience Read more…