SC junks vloggers’ petition vs House fake news probe

The Supreme Court (SC) has junked the petition filed by several vloggers assailing the validity of the House inquiry into the alleged role of paid trolls and content creators in the proliferation of fake news.

- By ELIZABETH MARCELO

Lawmakers did not violate petitioners’ right to free speech and expression in its tri-committee hearings in February, the high court maintained.

Inviting the vloggers as resource persons was not tantamount to a violation of their freedom of expression, the SC said.

"The invitation did not regulate what they said or how they expressed themselves. Congress, as part of its functions, only wanted to gather information for crafting laws, not to punish anyone for spreading 'fake news' or to suppress speech," the SC asserted.