By Kris Crismundo
MANILA – The Digital Media Standards Coalition (DMSC), a private sector initiative aimed at combating online misinformation and disinformation, was officially launched in Makati City on Monday.
DMSC brought together key organizations including the Cybersecurity Council of the Philippines, Global AI Council Philippines, Creator and Influencer Council of the Philippines, Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines, Blockchain Council of the Philippines, Philippines CIO Association, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), and Kapisanan ng mga Social Media Broadcasters ng Pilipinas, Inc. for the initiative that will address misinformation and disinformation in the social media landscape in the Philippines.
“This coalition will be the body that will be recognized in the draft bill as the private sector sounding board in recommending the steps towards what we want, which is to be able to prevent the spread of fake news and to address those that are actually done in the ecosystem,” DMSC chair Antonilo Mauricio said in a press briefing Monday.
The body’s goal is to recommend concrete steps to prevent the spread of fake news within the digital ecosystem, he said.
DMSC’s initiatives, he explained, align with the Marcos administration’s efforts to address the rampant spread of fake news and ensure that the Philippines’ digital ecosystem moves towards greater transparency and accountability.
The group is also drafting the Code of Ethics, patterned after the Code of Ethics of the KBP, and looking at benchmarking international standards from other countries.
The coalition expressed support for the Digital Accountability and Services Act, authored by Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman, that will mandate social media platforms like Meta and TikTok to set up legal offices in the Philippines, verify user identities and follow fact-checking protocols.
“The coalition will carry out fact-checking functions. If fake news is proven, social media platforms will be required to take it down. They will also adopt a suspension system, where disputed information will be flagged for investigation,” Roman said.
The lawmaker said it would be the social media platform, not the government, that would take punitive action.
“For me, this is the most practical approach to the problem of diffusion of fake news because justice is administered in such a way that no constitutional rights are being violate. Once you take down a piece of fake news, flag it as fake news, then justice has already been administered,” Roman said. (PNA)
