Black Tuesday protest march as netizens rallied at the Supreme Court #PIFAph #cybercrimelaw

by JC Maningat (Originally posted at Cybercrime law trends on Twitter worldwide, tops Reddit

The controversial Philippine cybercrime law continued to make waves at the global scene on Tuesday as it landed as top post on social news site Reddit.com and top 2 on Twitter’s most discussed topics worldwide.


(Skip the first 10 minutes since it involved negotiation with the police)

“The Philippines, my country, has just passed a law worse than SOPA. Criminalizing cybersex, torrent, and criticizing someone online. You can go to jail for clicking the “Like” button on Facebook,” the post on Reddit reads. It is linked to a CBS News article on how Facebook likes could land someone in jail under the implementation of Republic Act 10175 (RA 10175).

The post has solicited more than 400 comments as of posting time.

Previously, popular file-sharing website Pirate Bay carried a “Junk the Cybercrime Law” header” in support of netizens’ clamor for internet freedom.

Meanwhile, #NotoCybercrimelaw claimed the second spot on Twitter worldwide trendsas of 3:30 pm Tuesday as netizens vent their sentiments against the law. Most tweets decry the dangers to free speech that RA 10175 brings. The hashtag was also top trending topic locally.

Popular Twitter users such as TV host and radio DJ Mo Twister and celebrity Maxene Magalona joined the stream of Twitter conversation on the cybercrime law.

“I understand that the #CyberCrimeLaw means well.. But the people have fought too hard for freedom of speech for it to be taken away,” Magalona (@maxenemagalona) tweeted.

“Future of your Twitter timeline: Biblical verses, astrology, celebrities promoting their shows, and UAAP updates. Yay,” Mo Twister (@djmotwister) said on Twitter.

Netizens opposed to the law have declared the day as “Black Tuesday” and wore pitch black profile pictures in their social media accounts.

No TRO on cybercrime law

Offline, various groups trooped to the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday as they asked the magistrates to grant the temporary restraining order (TRO) being sought by various petitions against the law.

But the high court did not issue a TRO and deferred the deliberations until Tuesday (Oct. 9), paving the way for the law’s full implementation tomorrow.

SC spokesperson Gleo Guerra said in a report that while the en banc session reached a quorum, the justices still need more time to study the seven petitions filed against the cybercrime law.

Photo by Ime Morales, Philippine Internet Freedom Alliance