Senators criticized Meta, formerly Facebook, for its slow response to fake and malicious posts. One of the highlights was the deepfake video of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that has been circulating online for more than a week.
Berni Moestafa, Head of Meta Public Policy for the Philippines and Indonesia, said they are aware of the manipulated post. “For this particular content, I think it’s already been in process,” Moestafa said during a hearing of the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media on false content and fake news.
Senator Raffy Tulfo was not happy, saying that the deepfake was posted on February 2. “Why not take it down immediately? You know this is lie and fake news. Why would the President of the Philippines be allowed to be disrespected?” he added. According to Atty. Gio Tingson, Head of Meta Public Policy Philippines, they immediately removed the URLs after being reported by DICT, but it is possible that it was reposted by another account.
Tulfo also complained about his fake posts that have not been removed despite his repeated requests to Meta. He criticized the platform compared to TikTok, which is said to be faster in removing malicious content. Senator Robinhood Padilla, chair of the committee, advised Meta to act immediately, especially since the country is high in political tension and even the President has been attacked.
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda explained Meta's business model, where ad revenue is higher when there are more viewers. “So with 20 million followers, the potential ad views is P20 million,” he explained. Aguda also gave suggestions such as mandatory local legal presence, notice and action mechanism, and the creation of a digital safety authority to ensure protection against malicious content.
