ID systems have an important place in everyday life. They allow people to access essential services and enjoy their rights as citizens of a country. Using them, however, can become problematic when they don’t accurately reflect a person’s identity. This is the case with the Philippines where there are currently Read more…
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global public health emergency that requires a coordinated and large-scale response by governments worldwide. However, States’ efforts to contain the virus must not be used as a cover to usher in a new era of greatly expanded systems of invasive digital surveillance. We, the undersigned Read more…
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 Read more…
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 mandatory SIM card registration in the country. In this Congress, proposals pending at the House of Read more…
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 for the implementation of a national ID system next year. Together with their peers in the Read more…
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 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…
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…