Crime is not entertainment, and a child’s face should not be turned into a viral material.
So said Sen. Erwin Tulfo as he blasted social media giants on Tuesday for allowing the spread and posting content from the recent school shootings in Zamboanga City and Tacloban City despite their existing ‘community standards.’
Two minor students, including the shooter, were killed in the Zamboanga incident this month while the separate incident in Tacloban City took the lives of three other minor learners.
Photos of the alleged shooters later circulated on social media, prompting Tulfo to raise this issue in the Senate plenary.
‘I want to be very careful here: we must not prejudge anyone who has not been convicted by a court. But neither should social media companies be allowed to turn tragedy into viral content,’ he said in a privilege speech.
‘Ang krimen po ay hindi pang entertainment. Ang paghihirap ng biktima ay hindi po content. At ang mukha ng isang batang biktima man o suspek ay hindi dapat maging viral material,’ he stressed.
(Crime is not entertainment. A victim’s suffering is not content. And the face of a child, whether a victim or a suspect, should never become viral material.)
The senator questioned in particular the lack of proactive action by Meta (Facebook and Instagram), YouTube, X, and TikTok in addressing violent content related to the recent incidents, emphasizing its consequences to the users, especially children.
According to Tulfo, he was not asking these platforms to censor legitimate journalism, public-interest reporting, or lawful expression, but to ‘exercise reasonable and effective responsibility when content clearly violates their own published standards and, more importantly, when it threatens the dignity, privacy, and safety of our children.’
‘Hindi po sapat ang sabihin nilang (It is not enough for them to say,) ‘We have community standards.’ The question is: Are you actually enforcing them, Meta, Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram and Twitter?’ he asked.
‘Because a policy written on a website means very little if your algorithms and moderators allow prohibited content to be uploaded online and remain there for millions of people-including children-to see it.’
‘Let us therefore demand accountability-not to silence social media, but to make it safer. At kung patuloy ninyong pababayaan ang inyong responsibilidad, dapat kayong managot,’ added Tulfo, who heads the Senate committee on social justice, welfare, and rural development.
(Let us therefore demand accountability-not to silence social media, but to make it safer. And if you continue to neglect your responsibilities, you should be held accountable.)
The senator said Congress should also consider crafting a law that would impose hefty fines and penalties against social media platforms that repeatedly allow the dissemination of prohibited images or videos, especially those depicting violence against children.
His sentiments were echoed by several senators-Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III, Sens. Joel Villanueva, Risa Hontiveros and Raffy Tulfo.