Citation
Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Philippines), Republic Act No. 10175 (Sept. 12, 2012) (full-text).
Overview
The Act is a law that aims to address legal issues concerning online interactions and the Internet in the Philippines. Among the cybercrime offenses included in the bill are cybersquatting, cybersex, child pornography, identity theft, illegal access to data and libel.
While hailed for penalizing illegal acts done via the Internet that were not covered by old laws, the act has been criticized for its provision on criminalizing libel, which is perceived to be a curtailment in freedom of expression.
On October 9, 2012, the Supreme Court of the Philippines issued a temporary restraining order, stopping implementation of the Act for 120 days, and extended it on 5 February 2013 "until further orders from the court."[2][3]
On May 24, 2013, The DOJ announced that the contentious online libel provisions of the law had been dropped.[4]
On February 18, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that section 5 of the law decision was constitutional, and that sections 4-C-3, 7, 12 and 19 were unconstitutional.[5]