WATCH: Red flag or green flag? Advocates weigh in on anti-disinformation bill

In this video, the Ateneo Human Rights Center, Youth Voices Count, PressOne, and PHINMA Education evaluate the critical provisions of the bill and decide whether they are ready to commit, or pop the red balloon MANILA, Philippines – If a piece of legislation were a dating profile, would you swipe right, or is it a total red flag?Ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), the House of Representatives approved House Bill No. 9465, or the proposed Digital Media Anti-False Information Act. The bill seeks to penalize the intentional spread of online falsehoods that cause verifiable public harm or threaten national security. On paper, the measure carries several “green flags” that free speech and transparency advocates welcome. It also attempts to mandate tech giants like Facebook and TikTok to undergo annual independent audits, publicly disclose political ads, and work with education agencies to institutionalize media literacy across all school levels. Despite the assurance of lawmakers, including the bill’s principal author House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, that the bill shields the public from malicious online deception, the proposed measure drew concerns from civil society organizations and media advocates. To weigh in on this new bill, #FactsFirstPH, a multi-stakeholder coalition of truth-tellers and advocates, subjected the bill to a simulated “dating show” assessment. In the video, the Ateneo Human Rights Center, Youth Voices Count, PressOne, and PHINMA Education evaluate the critical provisions of the bill and decide whether they are ready to commit, or pop the red balloon. A Senate version of an anti-disinformation bill is also being debated, but this is not tackled in this video. #FactsFirstPH joined over 50 media organizations in a joint statement about the Senate and House anti-disinformation bills. Read the full statement here. In the past, the coalition also spearheaded multi-sectoral fact-checking initiatives to combat systemic election propaganda, monitored coordinated inauthentic behavior and disinformation networks, and provided legal safeguards for truth-tellers under attack. Know more about the bill by reading why censorship fears linger despite the revisions and understand what’s at stake. Join the #FactsFirstPH coalition by emailing moveph@rappler.com. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading