The Philippines' House of Representatives passed the Digital Media Anti-False Information Act 286-3, a bill authored by House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos that would impose six to twelve years in prison and fines up to P2 million for knowingly spreading false information causing 'verifiable public harm.' The bill also covers undisclosed AI-generated media and now heads to the Senate.
AI ethicist Carl Javier argues the bill wrongly targets individual content rather than platform behavior and algorithmic amplification, risking a chilling effect on speech. Journalist union chair Macel Ingles warns it hands the state excessive discretion to declare what counts as false, pointing to the Duterte-era Bayanihan Act's use against journalists as precedent for concern.
Critics also note the irony that President Marcos Jr. benefited from coordinated online disinformation ahead of his 2022 election, making his son's bill a sensitive proposition. Advocates instead urge prioritizing the pending AI Governance Act and Right to Information Act to address root causes rather than punishing individual posters.
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