Philippines pinches nose, averts eyes, bans cybersex
And 12 years in the slammer for ‘comment trolls’
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The government of the Philippines – which presides over a population that’s a jewel in the Vatican crown – has passed a cybersecurity law which, among other things, outlaws cybersex.
That country’s new “cybercrime act” – ostensibly a bill banning computer security attacks – also drops a maximum 12-year, no-parole prison sentence on anybody posting libelous comments on social network sites or blogs.
Computer fraud and malware are also targeted in the new law, but it’s the measures against cybersex, 'cam girls' and free speech that have attracted the most comment, both at home and abroad.
The bill defines cybersex as “the wilful engagement, maintenance, control, or operation, directly or indirectly, of any lascivious exhibition of sexual organs or sexual activity, with the aid of a computer system, for favour or consideration”.
The Philippines government told the Sun Star newspaper the cybersex provisions in the bill are designed to protect girls from being trafficked into being 'cam girls' against their will.
That country’s National Union of Journalists, however, says the bill betrays a government that opposes freedom of speech.
Perhaps in anticipation of a business-as-usual response from Anonymous, the new law also makes the procurement and publication of passwords illegal. ®
COMMENTS
No cybersex but...
Sending your daughter into a life of slavery in Saudi Arabia is still ok. Priorities - has anyone seen them?
Cam girl nonsense
The whole cam girl thing is absolute nonsense. I've had a first hand look at the cam girl industry in the PH and the girls certainly aren't being forced into any thing. Girls with little education who couldn't get a decent job are making double what those with degrees working in call centers are making.
You see stories where they talk about closing down these cam operations and 'saving' the girls. No one has been saved. You've just taken away a 40,000 PHP a month job from someone who will now be unemployed , begging on the streets or doing some menial job for 3,000 PHP a month.
This is just another example of the church pushing their BS into the government and laws.
They love us long time no more?
But seriously, unenforceable laws aren't worth the paper they are written on. They are actually counter-productive, imbuing a culture of "meh it's a stupid law, why should I follow it" that can lead to badness.
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