Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU) experts condemned the Department of Information and Communication Technology’s (DICT) plan to revive a proposal for mandatory registration of all social media accounts. The DICT first floated the proposal in 2022.

According to the CPU, they have long opposed the measure because it threatens the right to privacy and the people’s right to free expression.

The group likened the proposal to the SIM Registration Law, which claimed to solve fraud and cybercrime but in reality proved useless and only violated user privacy. It also endangers private data collected by telecommunication companies. Cybercrimes clearly did not decline after the law’s implementation. According to police data, cases of scams and reported cybercrimes have even increased.

The CPU said cybercrime requires clearly identified targets and specific solutions such as stronger personal data protection, not the arbitrary removal of the right to privacy in online spaces.

“Instead of helping, forced registration of social media accounts will only produce the same problems caused by the SIM Registration Law,” the CPU said. “It did not stop cybercrime, and in fact, did nothing to help ordinary Filipinos.”

“The right to privacy is a necessary condition for a people’s freedom of expression,” the group said. It provides a safe online space for individuals and groups to express their opinions without the threat of interference or coercion.

“We can anticipate that with social media registration, the government under Marcos Jr will weaponize this law to target critics voicing out opinions online, as it has already done in the past,” it warned.