Senate Bill 1492 or An Act Penalizing the Malicious Distribution of False News and Other Related Violations was filed by Senator Joel Villanueva to prevent the spead of fake news that has been so rampant lately.
In a press release posted by the Senate of the Philippines, Senate Bill 1492 is a bill that seeks to penalize any person or entity who maliciously offer, publish, distribute, circulate, and spread false news or information in print, broadcast or online media.
Any person who will be proven guilty of malicious creation and distribution of false news will face a fine ranging from P100,000 to P5,000,000 and imprisonment ranging from 1 to 5 years.
If the offender is a public official, he or she will be made to pay twice the said amount of fine, and twice the period of imprisonment; and absolute disqualification from holding any public office.
Meanwhile, if a violator was proven to have aided and encouraged the malicious creation and distribution of fake news, he or she will be slapped with a fine ranging from P50,000 to P3,000,000 and imprisonment ranging from 6 months to 3 years. A public official guilty of the said act will be meted out with twice the amount of fine and will have to serve twice the said period of imprisonment; and absolute disqualification from holding any public office.
In addition to that, any mass media enterprise or social media platform that fails, neglects, or refuses to remove false news will be penalized with a fine ranging from P10,000,000 to P20,000,000 and imprisonment ranging from 10 to 20 years.
(Photo source: https://www.rt.com)
