The anti-online abuse bill, which he authored (as his final act at the end of his three-terms in Congress and as member of the Bicameral Conference Committee) is now nearing completion and has provisions holding liable telcos and online platforms, as well as giving more teeth to law enforcers to run against violators.
Outgoing Agusan del Norte Rep. Lawrence Fortun said he is glad that the bill on anti- online abuse of all forms, especially against children, is nearing approval and that the bill now boosts the abilities of law enforcers to go against violators and makes the telcos and online platforms liable.
Fortun, one of the authors and a member of the Bicameral Conference Committee, said this bill caps his three terms of service in Congress, leaving a legacy that protects the most vulnerable sectors of society from abuses.
“The measure, when it becomes law, would strengthen the capacity of our law enforcers in running after perpetrators of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children. It would also hold accountable and liable telecom companies, media platforms and internet services providers for their failure to block, remove, and take other proper actions to ensure the prosecution and conviction of the OSAEC perpetrators,” Fortun said.
This bill was ratified when the 18th Congress resumed session.
Long overdue
“It is legislation long overdue. The perpetrators are often relatives and neighbors of the victims while the clientele are often those of organized crime groups. Economic gain is the usual motive as can be seen in the many previous arrests law enforcers have made,” Fortun said.
He also said the widespread use of internet technology, mobile apps, electronic payments, and sometimes online games has fueled the prevalence of OSAEC (online sexual abuse and exploitation of children).
The bill, among others, expands the definition of who a child is. It states that a child “refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age or over but unable to fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination because of physical, mental, intellectual or sensory disability or condition.”
The ratified bill also defines Child Sexual Abuse Or Exploitation Material or Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM/CSAEM) as “any representation, whether offline, or by, through or with the use of information and communications technology, by means of visual, video, audio, written, or any combination thereof, by electronic, mechanical, digital, optical, magnetic or any other means, of a child engaged or involved in real or simulated sexual activities, or depicting acts of sexual abuse or exploitation of a child as a sexual object. It shall also include materials that focus on the genitalia or other private body parts of a child. For purposes of this Act, CSAEM may interchangeably mean CSAM.”
Prohibited acts
The ratified bill has a long list of prohibited acts including:
To hire, employ, use, persuade, induce, extort, engage, or coerce a child to perform or participate in whatever way in the creation or production of any form of OSAEC and CSAEM;
To produce, direct, manufacture, facilitate, or create any form of CSAEM, or participate in the production, direction, manufacture, facilitation or creation in the same;
To offer, sell, distribute, advertise, promote, export, or import, by any means, any form of CSAEM
To knowingly publish, transmit and broadcast, by any means, any form of CSAEM
To permit or influence the child to engage, participate or assist in any form of CSAEM;
To produce, direct, create, hire, employ or pay a facilitator to stream or livestream acts of child sexual abuse or exploitation;
To introduce or match a child to a foreign national or to any person for the purpose of committing any of the offenses under this Act;
For film distributors, theaters, and ICT services by themselves or in cooperation with other entities, to distribute any form of child sexual abuse and exploitation material or to facilitate the commission of any of the offenses under this Act;
To knowingly benefit from, financial or otherwise, the commission of any of the offenses of this Act;
To provide a venue for the commission of prohibited acts under this section such as dens, private rooms, cubicles, cinemas, houses, private homes, or other establishments;
To willfully subscribe, join, donate to, or support an internet site that hosts OSAEC or streaming and/or live-streaming of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
To advertise, publish, print, broadcast or distribute, or cause the advertisement, publication, printing, broadcasting or distribution by any means of any brochure, flyer, or any material that promotes OSAEC and child sexual abuse or exploitation;
To possess any form of CSAEM: Provided, That possession of three (3) or more CSAEMs is prima facie evidence of the intent to sell, distribute, publish or broadcast;
To willfully access any form of CSAEM.
Tags: #Anti-onlineabusebill, #LawrenceFortun, #telcosandplatforms, #technology