De Lima: Use of illegal text blasters for 2022 campaign sets ‘dangerous precedent’

Senator Leila de Lima has urged Congress to investigate the reported sale of text blast machines on Facebook Marketplace and e-commerce companies, such as Lazada and Shopee, which are being used for partisan political activities.

She filed proposed Senate Resolution 934 directing the appropriate Senate committee to investigate the possible use and abuse of unlicensed radio equipment to send emergency text blasts during the filing of candidacy of an aspiring presidential candidate last Oct. 6.

“It is the primordial duty of the Philippine Senate, in the exercise of its legislative and oversight functions, to ensure that the government is strictly implementing the law about emergency alerts according to its intention and provide mechanisms to improve the country’s policy regarding emergency alerts and text blasting especially during election periods,” she said.

Text blasting is defined as the action in a radio communication system where text messages are being sent to numerous and random recipients. An equipment such as a transmitter is required to perform this action where such devices have the capability to deliver about 100,000 text messages per hour.

Last October 6, unsuspecting phone users at the Commission on Elections venue for the filing of certificates of candidacy for the May 2022 polls reportedly received a text blast cheering for an aspiring presidential candidate.

The National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) later ordered Facebook, Lazada and Shopee to immediately stop selling text blast machines, stating that no authorization was issued to the importation, manufacture, sale, and distribution of devices, such as Hitech SMS blaster, SMS location blasting system, and other similar products found within their platforms.

De Lima noted that the incident occurring at the Sofitel area was not the first instance of such abuses, as the “weaponization” of text blast machines was already prevalent in smaller towns during the 2019 elections.

“The use of emergency government channels for campaign purposes could set a dangerous precedent in future elections if it is left unchecked,” she said.

“The Cybercrime Prevention Act prohibits unsolicited commercial communications. There is need to consider whether the same should likewise be prohibited for political and election-related ‘spamming’ activities,” she added.

De Lima further stressed the need to strengthen the “The Free Mobile Disaster Alerts Act” and prevent the use of text blast machines not intended for emergency use.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)