Gov’t probes duplicate FB accounts; eyes link with anti-terror bill backlash » Manila Bulletin News
Updated June 8, 2020, 2:19 PM
By Martin Sadongdong
The spurt of dummy social media accounts in the Philippines — particularly on Facebook — could be considered a threat to national security, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana bared on Monday.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (Office of the Secretary of National Defense / MANILA BULLETIN)
He said he wanted to check if it was prompted by the criticisms against the government arising from the controversial anti-terrorism bill.
Over the weekend, dozens of University of the Philippines (UP) students and alumni reported that they found duplicates of their Facebook accounts, coinciding with the recently held protests against the looming enactment of the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
However, it was found out that the incident was not limited to UP students and alumni, as hundreds more have noticed that they have duplicate Facebook accounts. Others have copycat Instagram and Twitter accounts bearing their names but with minimal to zero content.
“Yes, we have the capabilities to check this and we are coordinating with the Facebook [management] to determine who are responsible for this,” Lorenzana said on the sidelines of a turnover ceremony of various medical equipment donations in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
“Both sides (pro and anti) are accusing each other. Those who are in favor of the bill said this was the handiwork of the other party, and vice versa. We want to know the truth,” Lorenzana said.
“Of course it is (a cause for concern). For example, I have a Facebook account and it could be hacked, and they could post anything there. It’s a cause for concern [because] it creates discordant voices among the people which should not be the case,” he said.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has an operational unit called AFP Cyber Group which is tasked to address cyber security issues related to national security threats.
“We are doing our own investigation. Of course, the cooperation of Facebook is needed,” Lorenzana said in a separate statement to reporters.
Various government agencies have also started investigating the incident including the National Privacy Commission (NPC), the Cybercrime Division of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Anti-Cybercrime Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Read more: Empty, duplicate accounts surface on Facebook
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