Applicable Laws Against Cyberbullying

Cyber bullying incidents will not dissipate anytime soon, so if you are at the receiving end and you want to take the legal route to address this, read on as the discussion on this post may help you.

• Update 1.8.2020 – Dark Social: A New Twist in Online Bullying

 
Relevant cyber bullying articles for your perusal:

• What to do when being (cyber) bullied
• What IS NOT cyber bullying
• The culture of cyber bullying in the Philippines 
• Bullying Cases up by 21% in Philippine Schools

You may also be interested to check the following:

•  survey result that defined the local cyber bullying culture
• statistics related to incidence of bullying and cyberbullying in the Philippines
• and the proactive steps to deal with cyberbullying.

 
I was asked if there is an applicable law against cyberbullying since the anti bullying law  only applies to minor, and the newly signed Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (RA 10175) is silent about cyber bullying.
 
Though Cyber bullying is not included on the new cybercrime law, some of its provision may be applied to ‘adult’ victims seeking justice. These are:

• Online libel
• Identity theft if the perpetuator created and assumed the identity of a victim, and used said account to embarrass and harass the victim
• Hacking, if the perpetuator hacked and used the victims account to embarrass and harass the victim.

 
Aside from RA 10175, the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009 or RA 9995 also applies. This, if the perpetuators use intimate personal images and videos to blackmail, extort or harass the victims.
 
For minors, aside from RA 10627, or the anti-bullying act of 2013,   “Republic Act 7610 also known as Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act” can also be used to run after perpetuators of cyber bullying and bullying.
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ARTICLE VI- Other Acts of Abuse
 
Section 10. Other Acts of Neglect, Abuse, Cruelty or Exploitation and Other Conditions Prejudicial to the Child’s Development. –
 
(a) Any person who shall commit any other acts of child abuse, cruelty or exploitation or to be responsible for other conditions prejudicial to the child’s development including those covered by Article 59 of Presidential Decree No. 603, as amended, but not covered by the Revised Penal Code, as amended, shall suffer the penalty of prison mayor in its minimum period.

There is a special challenge to identify the cyber bully since bullying can be done anonymously, or hide behind a pseudo online personality. But according to PH law enforcement groups, they have the capability to trace the identity of the anonymous bully.
 

As the pioneer in advocating cyber wellness in the Philippines, we believe one way to reduce if not totally prevent bullying and other cyber abuse incidents is “educate” stakeholders about cyber wellness.

Read: What is Cyber Wellness?

Cyber wellness education is meant to inform stakeholders of the risks associated with the use of smartphone/mobile gadgets, internet and social media, and equip them with a framework to effectively

• set-up a policy against abuses and guidance on how to use said tools for value adding purposes (school admin)
• set up procedure on how to handle bullying and cyber abuses, and how to help victims. (school admin)
• develop a curriculum or training program for students, teaching and non teaching staff; and learning session for parents. (school admin)
• use practical approaches to set-up house rules about internet and gadget use, and engage kids about gaming and social media (parents/guardians)
• avoid online behaviours that will expose users to risks, observe online ethics and practice online safety behaviours (end user/students)

 
Read: Why Schools Should Have A Cyber Wellness Program

Should you need help in setting up your cyber wellness policy or program, or you need a learning session for employees, students, parents, teachers and guidance counselors, feel free to shoot us an email at asksonnie[at]outlook[dot]PH or send SMS at +6328 514 9980

Sonnie

Founder of LODI Inc. (Learning and Organization Development Institute, Inc.) and Co-Founder of Blogwatch. Mentor and Dad of 2 Gen Z Professionals.
 
 
 
Advocate of #HRinHR (Human Rights in Human Resources) and #DigitalCitizenship
Strategist for  Talent, Culture & Content Development, and Cyber Wellness Initiatives
Keynoter and Facilitator of Workplace and Life Learning
 
 
Blogging since 2004.