Law needed to regulate social media platforms — PCO chief

The Philippine government must pass a law that would regulate social media platforms for them to effectively combat the spread of false information, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) chief Jay Ruiz said yesterday.

- JANVIC MATEO

In an interview with "Storycon" on One News, Ruiz said social media platforms "want a law from us" that can serve as guidelines that they can follow to moderate content.

"In the absence of a definition of fake news, what will they follow?" he said.

He recognized concerns of those who fear that such a policy may be used to stifle free speech, adding that they are open to dialogue to reach a consensus on the matter.

"You can have a truth commission. We can have the private sector there, you can have the government there. We just have to have a fact-checker," he said.

"We're open to dialogue, we're open to consensus. But there has to be a law regulating social media. Even social media platforms want it," he added.