In the Public Square: Sandro’s anti-fake news trap

There seems to be a concerted effort to pass legislation penalizing or seeking to prevent the spread of disinformation. In the House of Representatives, at least 14 bills have been referred to the appropriate committees. In the Senate, at least 5.

On its face, this effort seems like a good thing. But as they say, God, or the devil, is in the details. And some of the details are worrying.

What is shaping up to be the main version in the House, HB 2697, authored by Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, may turn out to be a trap — for free speech advocates, journalists, content creators.

To be completely fair, the committees handling the bills have been conducting open hearings, consulting experts, and welcoming observers.

In this new episode of In the Public Square, Rappler columnist John Nery is joined by colleagues in the anti-disinformation space who have taken part in some of those hearings: Carlos Nazareno, the director for Rights of the advocacy group Democracy.net.ph, and Janina Santos, the Philippine analyst of Doublethink Lab.

Watch the episode on Wednesday, February 11, at 8 pm. -Rappler.com