Proposal to Require License to Filipinos Before Posting Content

Proposal to Require License to Filipinos Before Posting Content

Yes you read it right, I saw it from Mike Abundo site that there will be a Public hearing today regarding the proposal to have a restriction in putting documents , commentary , blog post or any other online content possible. And it includes everything including friendster and facebook.

The NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (NTC) is inviting all affected and interested parties to a Public Hearing on the proposed Memorandum Circular on

GUIDELINES ON THE PROVISION OF CONTENTS, INFORMATION, APPLICATIONS, AND ELECTRONIC GAMES

to be held on 22 January 2009, Thursday, at 2:00 P.M. at the NTC Executive Conference Room, 3rd Floor, NTC Bldg., BIR Road, East Triangle, Diliman, Quezon City.

All affected and interested parties are hereby requested to submit their comments and/or position papers on the above proposed Circular within fifteen (15) days from publication of this NOTICE.

Copies of the proposed Circular can be obtained from the Office of the Common Carrier Authorization Department, 2nd Floor, NTC Bldg. or downloaded from the NTC website www.ntc.gov.ph.

Do Philippine Government want to get hold of us bloggers and do as they command. I think this is not very good proposal since this will hinder us to put any comments or blog post without a license. Is it due to the reason that there are some cases that the bloggers are the key to solve some problems in the government.? I don’t know what NTC thinks that’s why they intend to make this law. Anyway if you think it is not fair for us why don’t you blog it and once we express our concern regarding this matter . And I believe we Filipinos are responsible enough to make our contents online.

and here is a copy of the Circular. If incase the site is down.

22 December 2008 draft

MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR

No. ______________________

SUBJECT: GUIDELINES ON THE PROVISION OF CONTENTS, INFORMATION, APPLICATIONS, AND ELECTRONIC GAMES

WHEREAS, the 1987 Constitution fully recognizes the vital role of communications in nation building and provides for the emergence of communications structures suitable to the needs and aspirations of the nation;

WHEREAS, the promotion of competition in the telecommunications market is a key objective of Republic Act No. 7925 (RA7925, for brevity), otherwise known as The Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines, which mandates that “a healthy competitive environment shall be fostered, one in which telecommunications carriers are free to make business decisions and interact with one another in providing telecommunications services, with the end in view of encouraging their financial viability while maintaining affordable rates.”

WHEREAS, RA7925 further defines the role of the government to “promote a fair, efficient and responsive market to stimulate growth and development of the telecommunications facilities and services”;

WHEREAS, the provision of contents, information, applications, and electronic games to the consumers creates demand for telecommunication networks and services – the development of contents, information, applications, and electronic games should therefore be encouraged and facilitated;

WHEREAS, the entry of more contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers in the market will result to lower prices benefiting the consumers;

WHEREAS, to further encourage the development of contents, information applications and electronic games, the prevailing access charge regime between the contents, information, applications and electronic games providers and the networks providers which is revenue sharing should be replaced by fixed access charge;

WHEREAS, in the power sector the consumers can purchase their power requirements from independent power producers – power producers are not subject to nationality requirement;

NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to RA7925, Executive Order (EO) No. 546 series of 1979, and in order to encourage and facilitate the development of contents and the provision thereof to the consumers, the National Telecommunications Commission (Commission) hereby promulgates the following guidelines:

A DEFINITIONS

1. The following terms as used in this Circular shall have the following definitions:

a. Content – refers to all types of contents delivered to/accessed by the users/subscribers such as music, ring tones, logos, video clips, etc.

b. Information – refers to all types of information delivered to/accessed by the users/subscribers, e.g. road traffic information, financial information, visa application information, etc.

c. Application – refers to all types of applications delivered to/accessed by the users/subscribers, e.g. mobile banking, electronic payments, point of sale service, etc.

d. Electronic Game – refers to games played online except gambling.

e. Contents Providers – are persons or entities offering and providing contents to the public for compensation through the networks, systems and/or facilities of authorized networks, systems and/or facilities providers.

f. Information Providers – are persons or entities offering and providing information to the public for compensation through the networks, systems and/or facilities of authorized networks, systems and/or facilities providers.

g. Applications Providers – are persons or entities offering and providing applications to the public for compensation through the networks, systems and/or facilities of authorized networks, systems and/or facilities providers.

h. Electronic Games Providers – are persons or entities offering and providing electronic games to the public for compensation through the networks, systems and/or facilities of authorized networks, systems and/or facilities providers.

i. Contents Developers – are persons or entities creating contents.

j. Information Sources – are persons or entities providing information to Information Providers.

k. Applications Developer – are persons or entities creating applications.

l. Electronic Games Developer – are persons or entities creating electronic games.

B REGISTRATION

1. Contents, Information, Applications and/or Electronic Games Providers, Contents Developers, Information Sources, Applications Developers, and Electronic Games Developers are required to have commercial presence in the country and shall secure Certificate of Registration (COR) from the Commission.

2. There shall be no nationality requirement for contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers, contents, applications and/or electronic games developers and information sources.

3. The application for registration shall be filed and acted upon by the Commission not later than seven (7) working days from date of application.

4. The application shall include the following documents:

a. Valid registration from the Securities and Exchange Commission or from the Department of Trade and Industry and Articles of Incorporation;

b. Facilities lease agreement with duly enfranchised and certificated public telecommunications entity; and

5. The Certificate of Registration shall be valid for a maximum period of five (5) years. Applicants for registration may opt to apply for shorter period not shorter than one (1) year. Certificates of Registration shall be renewable.

D FEES AND CHARGES

1. The following fees and charges shall be imposed:

a. Filing Fee : PhP 300.00

b. Annual Registration Fee: 6,000.00

c. Surcharge for late : 50% of the annual registration fee if application

filing of application is filed within six (6) months from date of expiry

for renewal 100% if filed after six (6) months from date of expiry

E RATES

1. The rates shall be deregulated. The contents, information, applications and/or electronic games provider shall inform the Commission of the rates for each of the content, information, application or electronic game offered at least three (3) days prior to the offering of such content, information, application or electronic game. Contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers seeking increases in rates shall inform the Commission of the details of such increases at least five (5) days prior to the implementation of the increase. The Commission in the exercise of its mandate to protect consumers may not allow the increase. If the Commission does not act on the information within five (5) days from receipt of the same, the contents, information, applications and/or electronic games provider can impose the new rates.

F ACCESS CHARGES

1. Networks, systems and/or facilities providers shall provide access to contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers upon request and based on an access agreement. Access to the networks, systems and/or facilities of duly authorized providers by registered contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers shall be mandatory.

2. The access charge shall be negotiated. The access charge shall be cost-oriented and shall not be higher than the prevailing retail rates, not promotional rates, for the service where the contents, information, applications and/or electronic games are offered/provided.

G CONSUMER WELFARE AND INTEREST

1. Contents, Information, Applications and/or Electronic Games Providers shall strictly comply to the provisions of MC No. 05-06-2007 (Consumer Protection Guidelines), MC No. 04-06-2007 (Data Log Retention of telecommunications traffic), and MC No. 03-03-2005 (Rules and Regulations on Broadcast Messaging Service) and its amendments.

2. Complaints from the subscribers/users shall be presumed to be valid. The burden of proof shall be upon the contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers.

H Sanctions

1. Violation of any of the provisions of this Circular shall be a ground for the revocation or cancellation of the registration as Contents, Information, Applications and/or Electronic Games Provider.

2. The Commission may direct the disconnection of the access to the networks, systems or facilities of authorized providers pending the investigation of a complaint filed by a subscriber/user if the Commission finds that there is strong evidence against the contents, information, applications and/or electronic games provider.

3. Any violation of this circular shall be dealt with in accordance with law.

E Final Provision

1. Any circular, order, memoranda or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are deemed repealed or amended accordingly.

2. This Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation and three (3) certified true copies are furnished the UP Law Center.

Quezon City, Phlippines _________________________.

RUEL V. CANOBAS

Commissioner

JORGE V. SARMIENTO JAIME M. FORTES, JR.

Deputy Commissioner Deputy Commissioner

Dexter Panganiban https://techathand.net/about-2/

Dexter is a person who loves technology,new gadget, SEO, Social Media and Christianity. Follow him at twitter via @techathand and add him @ Google+ and contact us at [email protected]

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51Comments

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  1. 8
    josepherdon

    bago sila nag-layout ng ganitong proposal, hindi man lang nila inisip yung obvious points.
    1. paano yung mga pinoy bloggers na nasa ibang bansa?
    a. pinoy – english speaking na nakatira outside the philippines
    b. mga lumaki sa ibang bansa na ang magulang are pinoys, tapos naisipang mag-blog: kailangan munang mag-register at magbayad sa NTC?
    c. this policy does not exist even in US 😀

    AND….
    Kailangan mong magbayad para ka makapag-blog?
    Kailangan mong magrenew ng license yearly?

    GET REAL.

    …..
    D FEES AND CHARGES
    1. The following fees and charges shall be imposed:
    a. Filing Fee : PhP 300.00
    b. Annual Registration Fee: 6,000.00
    c. Surcharge for late : 50% of the annual registration fee if application filing of application is filed within six (6) months from date of expiry for renewal 100% if filed after six (6) months from date of expiry

    josepherdons last blog post..HP Mini 1000 – Blogger’s Bestfriend

  2. 25
    itot

    si angel cuala ng fatherblogger.com ay nahingi ng konting tulong financial sa inyo sa kadahilanan na ang butihing asawa niya e nadiagnose ng dengue. nakaconfine po ang asawa niya at nangangailangan ng 10k para sa blood transfusion. kung gusto niyo pong tumulong e iemail niyo ako sa [email protected]. ako na po ang tatanggap ng mga tulong financial niyo dahil unverified po ang paypal account ni angel. maraming salamat po.

    itots last blog post..Intel Philippines, Malaysia Shutdown

  3. 28
    Zang

    Their main reason is not to get a hold of us all bloggers… but to earn from us! This is yet again another form of money-making pursuit. 6,000 pesos, did they say? OMG! At san mapupunta ang pera? Sa bulsa din ng mga kurakot! Why won’t they just leave us with all our blogging pursuit? Where is the right to expression?

  4. 30
    Cedric Solidon

    This proposal’s very broad indeed. But the way I interpret it is that they’re probably referring to established content providers, say Yehey.com.

    But again, the proposal’s very broad they can make an excuse to milk money out of us bloggers (including those who are earning close to nothing from this venture) just because they provide, “contents to the public for compensation.”

    Compensation then could cover things like having adsense ads even if it only earns you a cent per month.

    I don’t want to get really worried about this but I know Pinoy bloggers won’t let this one slip easily. 🙂

    Cedric Solidons last blog post..Where to Find Freelance Jobs with Less Competition

    • 31
      Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Net

      @Cedric Solidon,

      Yeah .. They should be more specific when it comes to making this kind of proposal. If it is for established providers as you say, they have to be specific.. and if it is for network providers as what ladyprogrammer commented.. it should be written in the proposal.

      And I know blogger will unite with this issue and hold hands to voice out our concern.

      It is so sad that today blogging is already being known in Philippines and yet there are stories like this.

      Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Nets last blog post..What Do Buyer’s Think ?

  5. 32
    Rhodilee

    HMmmmm.. I still have to thoroughly read the proposal before making further comments 🙂 I’ll be posting my comments — and suggestions in a blog post.

  6. 34
    Rhodilee

    @cheftonio,

    Hehehhehehhe your comment is the best I have read so far regarding this issue :

    “We’ve been paying tons of taxes already without knowing where the hell it is going and they still want to get money from us to express our feelings?”

  7. 36
    Hussein

    Against the law ito. Blogging is a freedom of speech. Pagnangyari to parang tinanggalan na tayo ng karapatan isulat ang opinions natin.Ang bobo naman ng nag submit ng proposal na yan. Naghahanap nanamn sila ng pagkakakitaan nila. Mas gusto ko na talaga mag migrate.

    Husseins last blog post..How To Restore “Show Desktop” Icon in Quick Launch

    • 37
      Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Net

      @Hussein,

      ” Freedom of speech ” that is why I love blogging. I have freedom to tell my comments.. But if it will be remove they have to amend the constitution 🙂

      Parang Cha cha ah

      Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Nets last blog post..What Do Buyer’s Think ?

  8. 43
    Huan22

    I heard about this last night and the first thing that comes into my mind is BULLOCKS!!!!. The government just wants to rip-ff some cash from us, surely they will require you to pay some processing fee just to obtain this license. I mean, you need to have a license before you can express your thoughts? This is an outrage!!! One thing is sure, this wont be garnering any support from the online community.

    I will be blogging about this, and i’ll make sure that it will get the smearing it deserves

    • 44
      Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Net

      @Huan22,

      ” The government just wants to rip-ff some cash from us ” and I just hope it will not be tax from Adsense Earnings. I will wait for your post. and let us spreead our concern regarding this matter. We may not be present on that open forums but we can express our thoughts thru our blogs.

      Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Nets last blog post..What Do Buyer’s Think ?

      • 45
        Huan22

        @Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Net,

        Our government always comes up with the crappiest solutions. Im sure the dimwit you come up with this ideas dont know how the internet works. Even with this licensing system, you can stop people from expressing their thoughts and ideas through the internet. Dont they have much more important things to do? They should be focusing on our ever declining economy and not bothering those who are contributing to the welfare of the country

      • 46
        Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Net

        @Huan22,

        I agree that this license will not hinder us to make comments. What if the commenter says that he/she is from Spain, US or canada.. could they sue them ….

        They should know how the internet works..

        Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Nets last blog post..What Do Buyer’s Think ?

      • 47
        Huan22

        @Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Net,

        I’ll just use a DNS server that is located in Africa or use onion routing or tor to hide my IP.

        I would just like to note that in the end of the article, it says that the UP law center is involved in this regulatory measure. I thought that UP is against this kind of resstrictive actions and yet they have involved themseleves in this.

      • 49
        mike

        @Huan22, The Law requires all administrative issuances (such as this one) to be deposited a copy of which with the UP Law Center for purposes of compilation and legal scholarship.

  9. 50
    rodel

    WTF!!!!.. am i exempted on this one??.. hehehe.. coz i just scrap content lol!

    rodels last blog post..JAmerican Idol 8 hopeful Joanna Pacitti — “We Belong” Audition

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