House bill filed vs ‘identity theft’ from Internet

Publishing a person's personal data retrieved from the Internet might soon be a crime, if a bill filed Thursday at the House of Representatives would be passed.

Under HB 3828, a stiff penalty will be imposed against "identity theft" and the "malicious" disclosure of personal information by the media without the consent of the subject.

In a statement, Camarines Norte Representative Liwayway Vinzons-Chato, who authored the bill, said the "increasing sophistication" of information technology has eased the access to other people's personal information.

"Computers linked together by high-speed networks with advance processing systems can create comprehensive dossiers on any person without the need for a single central computer system," she said.

If enacted into law, the reporter, editor-in-chief, publisher, manager, and president of a newspaper found guilty shall face a penalty of two years imprisonment and pay a fine of not more than P500,000.

People who reveal false information -- either obtained from a data controller or unknowingly transferred to them -- shall be jailed for six months and be fined for not more than P500,000.

Meanwhile, people who process the data without the consent of the persons concerned shall be charged with a 12-year imprisonment and a fine of not more than P3 million.

She also cited a survey that showed the call to enforce penalties for violating data privacy rights.

The bill includes the creation of National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) that shall register data controllers and processors and monitor the country's compliance with international standards on data protection.

Among the functions of the NDPC are: overseeing and monitoring the processing of personal data, stopping any breach in the data protection, ensuring that the rights of the data subject are upheld, and monitoring the compliance of other government agencies with security and encryption measures.

Rachel Hermosura - INQUIRER.net