During the first Senate hearing on the issue of cybersex, Wycoco said neither
Republic Act 9802 nor RA 201 defines "pornography," let alone the paid sex
services carried out on the Internet.
Wycoco stressed the need for a concrete definition of terms before government
law enforcers can pin down cybersex-for-pay operators and private individuals
who ply the trade over the information superhighway.
NBI special agent Dalmer Mallari said there is a need to address the
culpability of Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunication
companies for the rising incidence of online smut coming from the Philippines.
During a hearing at the Senate, opposition Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile suggested
terminating the franchises of telecommunications companies that fail to
regulate what sites their subscribers use on their Internet connection
facilities or in operating Internet cafes.
Lawyer and NBI Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division (AFCCD) chief Efren
Meneses Jr. said the term "cybersex" is not appropriate when referring to the
proliferation of nude photos and live sex scenes for a fee on the Internet.
Meneses said it is difficult to prove in court that there is actual "physical
contact" between the "actors and performers" of such pornography.
While it is possible that the "clients" and online sex workers may meet and
engage in actual paid sexual acts after meeting online, such activity cannot
easily be proven in court.
Because of this, Meneses said the term "Internet pornography" is a better term
to use when referring to paid cybersex because there is no actual physical
contact during such online activity.
Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., chairman of the committee on public order and illegal
drugs, said there was a "thin line" separating censorship from each Filipino's
constitutionally-protected right to freedom of expression. He said this issue
would need to addressed in determining what portions of existing laws on
pornography, child abuse and e-commerce should be amended.
"We will really have a hard time addressing cybersex, although we believe that
there is a need to focus on organized (Internet pornography) operations,
especially those which use children," Villar said in Filipino. "That's all we
will keep watch over (because) we have to be careful also on the issue of
censorship and press freedom."
