Palace Press Officer Atty. Claire Castro said they were open to the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) ‘s possible recommendation to ban Facebook and other social media platforms in the Philippines following the spread of the Zamboanga tragedy video.
It can be recalled that it took several days for the social media platform to remove the said video that showed the point of view of the suspect during his assault at Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
According to Castro, the palace is open to any recommendation that would protect the people.
“Kung kinakailangan po at ito po ang napag-aralan kasi marami po talagang … hindi lamang po sa nagiging marahas iyong nakikita natin sa iba’t ibang klase ng social platform at sa social media, kailangan din pong pag-aralan kung ito ba ay nakakabuti sa paglaganap ng mga fake news sa ating bansa,” said Castro.
“Kung hindi magkakaroon ng accountability ang anumang social media platform at parang nababalewala ang ating mga hiling para maproteksiyunan ang ating mga kababayan laban sa karahasan, laban sa fake news, kung mabagal ang pagtugon, ay magandang pag-isipan at pag-aralan kung dapat silang manatiling parte ng ating sistema,” she added.
Castro clarified that they have no problems with critics, but it would be a different story if they were peddling misinformation.
As of writing, Meta, the company that owns Facebook has yet to give a statement on the proposal of the CICC.