Group opposes SIM Card Registration Bill

The Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women aired its opposition to the SIM Card Registration Bill, which recently progressed to bicameral approval.

The group warned that the bill would open the floodgates to the government’s infringement of citizens’data privacy rights, especially for the purpose of surveillance on critics of state policies.

“If passed, the SIM Card Registration Bill’s provisions are very likely to be weaponized against the people. The bill requires everyone with a Filipino SIM card to register theirs within a centralized database, and also requires only real names and phone numbers be used in making social media accounts. This is a blatant attempt by the government to make their project of state surveillance easier for themselves,” said Amihan Chair Zenaida Soriano. The bill also denies those without government IDs or documents the ability to buy a SIM card, causing massive disenfranchisement to telco consumers who need SIM cards for basic communication, the group said. At the same time, Amihan said text scams that have inexplicably gotten hold of citizens’personal information are on the rise.

Troll farms, vloggers, and institutionalized disinformation have contributed to the Philippines’ being dubbed “patient zero” for the global fake news epidemic, the group claimed.

“We have seen firsthand how the government uses technology and the digital sphere to suppress the right to freedom of speech. Our website, along with those of 27 other organizations and media groups, remains blocked by the NTC to this day,” Soriano added. “We simply cannot trust the government with access to such personal information when we know it is only looking for ways to accuse, control, red-tag, and silence dissenters.”