University of the Cordilleras

Topic: Data Rights are Human Rights and Social Media and its implications to the Bill of
Rights
Philippines 2022

In the 21st century, technology and the cyber space has become more compact in such rapid
development that information has become more difficult to remain private or even utter
online. Privacy and speech goes hand in hand as one of the major concerns for any users
across the globe in the present days. The question now lies whether data rights are
considered human rights?
The question arises as early as 2013, when 29-year-old Edward Snowden stole and reveal
to the media and the world that the NSA collected the telephone records from millions of
Verizon customers and has accessed and collected data through back doors into US internet
companies such as Google and Facebook with a program called Prism within the shroud of
secrecy. It was during this revelation as well as the Cloud being hacked and all of its data
stored within being leaked that the general public asked whether such incursion from the
government and other third party is an infringement of their privacy.
The UN’s top human rights office concluded years ago that in order to respect the right to
privacy, the UN told governments should regulate how private companies — not just police
and spy agencies — treat personal data. Although the human rights treaties only strictly
apply to governments, there is a long-established norm that businesses should respect
rights even if a government doesn’t force them to do so — and that’s as true for Facebook
as for more usual suspects such as the diamond, oil, and tobacco industries. The same UN
body has specifically urged web-based companies to make sure their practices don’t
facilitate inappropriate government surveillance or otherwise harm human rights.
It has been 9 years since the revelation handed by Snowden, however, nothing has change.
The fact that governments has change in their ways since those days much cannot be said
about private companies that had step up in their operations. It is well known fact that major
companies, such of Google, Facebook, YouTube, and so forth, have been eavesdropping on
References:
This is everything Edward Snowden revealed in one year of unprecedented top-secret leaks
https://www.businessinsider.com/snowden-leaks-timeline-2016-9
Data Privacy Is a Human Right Europe Is Moving Toward Recognizing That
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/04/19/data-privacy-human-right
VPN usage is increasing, says December 2020 survey
https://blog.malwarebytes.com/malwarebytes-news/2021/01/vpn-usage-is-increasing-says-
survey/
Why Do People Use VPN Services?
https://www.cactusvpn.com/beginners-guide-to-vpn/why-do-people-use-vpn/
[BUSINESSMIRROR] Credit registry alerts public on scams in collecting payment from
borrowers
https://www.creditinfo.gov.ph/businessmirror-credit-registry-alerts-public-scams-collecting-
payment-borrowers
Philippine Human Rights Groups Dismayed After Supreme Court Rules Parts of Anti-Terror
Law Constitutional
https://www.voanews.com/a/philippine-human-rights-groups-dismayed-after-supreme-court-
rules-parts-of-anti-terror-law-constitutional/6346624.html
Man who called Duterte ‘buang’ on Facebook arrested for cyberlibel
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1275073/man-from-agusan-del-norte-nabbed-for-controversial-
post-vs-bong-go-duterte
user worldwide to feed this information to advertisement companies or any business that
would find such information useful. As well as in recent years, this companies have been
conducting a crusade of censorship with one notable figure being silence is former President
Donald Trump when his tweeter account was banned indefinitely. As a country best well
known for their freedoms such decision to silent one of their user of their speech is of great
concern.
Individual’s speech and privacy is under threat as this major internet based companies are
colluding in their efforts to silent the critiques and profiting on individual’s information. As the
Internet became more and more advanced, governments didn’t stay idle or stop. Numerous
government surveillance agencies started creating surveillance programs and cooperating
with big tech industries that take advantage of the information available on the web to
monitor Internet users worldwide. Virtual Private Network or VPN services has been on the
rise on recent years. VPN is a handy tool that allows users to send and receive data safely
and securely. Surveys had shown that due to many reasons people has known the service
more and some have used it for the personal use which is increasing yearly. Reason varies
but it is safe to say that it has something to do with government and private companies
spying on user activities.
Worldwide the problem of privacy and speech has been a major talking point and concern.
The Philippines is no different as our cyberspace defense capability is still weak as well as
its exploitability is high. The common Pilipino citizen are susceptible to online frauds and
scams that breaches the common folk of their data privacy. Many have been victimize by
such schemes due to harsh times and people needing money but an advisory has been
made to inform people. Such a breach of private data is dangerous for the common folk as
they can use such data in criminal means. As for the government, it is but no different to the
west as the controversial Anti-Terror Law looms over citizens across the country threatening
the very speech and privacy of its citizens as it limits, censors, and classified people as
terror groups. The Philippines has a rich history of fighting against tyrants from the
Spaniards, the Americans, the Japanese, and the Marcoes. Such a move endangers the
basic rights of the citizenry. The fact that we have a case that a mere swear word against the
government will get you in trouble with the law is a clear sign of breach of the basic rights of
the citizen. Data rights are human rights and its implications to our bill of rights is important

References:
This is everything Edward Snowden revealed in one year of unprecedented top-secret leaks
https://www.businessinsider.com/snowden-leaks-timeline-2016-9
Data Privacy Is a Human Right Europe Is Moving Toward Recognizing That
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/04/19/data-privacy-human-right
VPN usage is increasing, says December 2020 survey
https://blog.malwarebytes.com/malwarebytes-news/2021/01/vpn-usage-is-increasing-says-
survey/
Why Do People Use VPN Services?
https://www.cactusvpn.com/beginners-guide-to-vpn/why-do-people-use-vpn/
[BUSINESSMIRROR] Credit registry alerts public on scams in collecting payment from
borrowers
https://www.creditinfo.gov.ph/businessmirror-credit-registry-alerts-public-scams-collecting-
payment-borrowers
Philippine Human Rights Groups Dismayed After Supreme Court Rules Parts of Anti-Terror
Law Constitutional
https://www.voanews.com/a/philippine-human-rights-groups-dismayed-after-supreme-court-
rules-parts-of-anti-terror-law-constitutional/6346624.html
Man who called Duterte ‘buang’ on Facebook arrested for cyberlibel
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1275073/man-from-agusan-del-norte-nabbed-for-controversial-
post-vs-bong-go-duterte
to be recognized and respected as it forms part of the fundamental right of any person of
any nation.

References:
This is everything Edward Snowden revealed in one year of unprecedented top-secret leaks
https://www.businessinsider.com/snowden-leaks-timeline-2016-9
Data Privacy Is a Human Right Europe Is Moving Toward Recognizing That
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/04/19/data-privacy-human-right
VPN usage is increasing, says December 2020 survey
https://blog.malwarebytes.com/malwarebytes-news/2021/01/vpn-usage-is-increasing-says-
survey/
Why Do People Use VPN Services?
https://www.cactusvpn.com/beginners-guide-to-vpn/why-do-people-use-vpn/
[BUSINESSMIRROR] Credit registry alerts public on scams in collecting payment from
borrowers
https://www.creditinfo.gov.ph/businessmirror-credit-registry-alerts-public-scams-collecting-
payment-borrowers
Philippine Human Rights Groups Dismayed After Supreme Court Rules Parts of Anti-Terror
Law Constitutional
https://www.voanews.com/a/philippine-human-rights-groups-dismayed-after-supreme-court-
rules-parts-of-anti-terror-law-constitutional/6346624.html
Man who called Duterte ‘buang’ on Facebook arrested for cyberlibel
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1275073/man-from-agusan-del-norte-nabbed-for-controversial-
post-vs-bong-go-duterte