With no intention of shutting down Facebook, Duterte just wants to talk – Palace

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte seeks to meet with Facebook representatives after he questioned the social media platform’s decision to remove pro-government and promilitarian “promotion” pages and accounts, saying he sees no use for it if it doesn’t help the government in the “struggle of ideas”.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque explained Tuesday that Duterte did not intend to shut down Facebook’s operation in the country, but criticized his takedowns as a form of censorship and suppression of free expression.

“The president only said that it is necessary to speak,” said Roque. “It won’t be good for Facebook and the Philippines [if the social network is banned], because we are number one on Facebook after all. So it will be a great loss for Facebook. But at the same time, since we are number one, many Filipinos who use it will be affected. “

Last week, Facebook said it removed two groups of fake accounts, one in the Philippines and one in Fujian, China, that were involved in “coordinated inauthentic behavior” in violation of its community standards.

The local group linked to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police participated in attacks against activists and dissidents. The Chinese network attacked Rappler and supported the possible presidential race of Sara, Duterte’s daughter, in 2022.

On Monday night, during his weekly television appearance, Duterte said the social media giant’s reasons for removing the “defense” pages were “so complicated” that he couldn’t understand them.

“Facebook, listen to me. We allow you to operate here, hoping that you can help us too. Yes now [the] the government cannot embrace or defend something [that] It is for the good of the people, so what is its purpose here in my country? said the president.

“What would be the point of allowing him to continue if he can’t help us?” he said. “We are not advocating mass destruction, we are not advocating mass slaughter. It is a struggle of ideas. And apparently derived from his statement or his position is that it cannot be used as a platform. “

Duterte said Facebook “cannot establish policy” for his government and prevent it from “defending the objectives of [the] government.”

“If you can’t help me protect the interests of the government, then let’s talk. We may or may not find the solution. If we can’t, I’m sorry, ”he said.

Censorship

The president “does not tolerate censorship of pro-government defenses, such as defenses to protect children against enlistment as combatants,” according to Roque.

One page removed by Facebook was Hands Off Our Children, which was set up and run by an army captain as a platform for parents whose children had allegedly been recruited by the communist New People’s Army.

“We believe in freedom of expression. They can use ‘inauthentic behavior’ as justification, but the effect is censorship, because the contents of the page were deleted, ”said Roque.

Such a “content-based restriction” is unconstitutional, the former human rights lawyer said.

“The problem here is the effect of the shoot down, and the Philippine government claims that it is a form of censorship,” he said.

Roque said that the page and the owners of the pages that were withdrawn must go to court “because the whole planet is waiting for jurisprudence in this regard.”

He also criticized Facebook for choosing groups that were “against the Duterte administration” as fact-checkers, pointing to Rappler and Vera Files, which are independent media teams.

AFP, PNP requests

Major General Edgard Arévalo, an AFP spokesman, supported the president’s call for a meeting with Facebook officials, with whom senior military commanders held talks last week to request that the HOOC page and other defense pages be restored.

Colonel Ysmael Yu, a PNP spokesman, told the Inquirer that Facebook had been asked to provide a list of accounts allegedly linked to the police.

The undersecretary of the Interior, Jonathan Malaya, said that the “unilateral act of Facebook, without prior consultation or due process with the affected people” was a matter of concern for the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

He said that “the least” the social media giant could have done was give those interested the opportunity to refute the accusations against them.

“We are open to dialogue with FB even when we ask them to be more transparent and accountable to their members in regulating members’ accounts,” he added.

Propaganda

Bayan Muna’s representative, Ferdinand Gaite, said the president’s remarks were an admission that the government intervened in the use of fake Facebook accounts for propaganda and “mass disinformation,” which primarily targeted critics and the public. opposition, such as the Makabayan bloc in the House.

He asked on Facebook not to be intimidated by the president’s threats.

“They (Facebook) must reveal these pages and accounts. People and victims of online attacks by these trolls deserve to know at least that, ”he said, adding that it should be investigated whether public funds are being used.

“It is not simply a question of fake accounts; these are false accounts that spread lies, defamation and hatred that have been used to justify human rights violations, ”said Gaite.

A university professor said that banning Facebook would only consolidate and strengthen, rather than dismantle, disinformation networks or troll farms.

“Any state regulation of social media would benefit not the people, but the powers that be,” Danilo Arao, a professor of mass communication at the University of the Philippines, told The Inquirer.

Social media campaign

One of the propaganda networks that Facebook had removed was found to have links to Nic Gabunada, Duterte’s most effective online election campaign manager.

Duterte had admitted that a social media team was hired to advocate and promote him online during his campaign. An Oxford study showed that their camp spent P10 million on their social media campaign.

His tax and expense statements for the 2016 election indicated that he spent P343.7 million on advertising, including online, but they were not detailed.

Human Rights Watch researcher Carlos Conde said that “Duterte is nothing without Facebook.”

Duterte and his army of propagandists used Facebook to prop up their popularity even as thousands were being killed. Facebook was Duterte’s most effective weapon in threatening, harassing and intimidating critics. It is also the main means to promote the violence that we continue to see, ”he added.

—With reports from Melvin Gascon, Nestor Corrales, Krixia Subingsubing, and Inquirer Research

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