On April 24, Reddit user ‘GreatChungaskhan’ posted on the subreddit community r/Philippines a phone screenshot that shows a text message containing a link to a campaign video of presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. According to the post, the message was delivered to the recipient’s Smart Communications SIM account from a sender that only showed the name ‘Support’ without any number associated with it.

In the comment section, several users said that they received the same text message. In the same post, the Reddit user asked if such text blasts are illegal, as there is a law – Republic Act 10173 – against spamming.

CLAIM:

The use of ‘text blast machines’ is illegal

RATING:

TRUE 

FACTS:

Republic Acts No. 30846 (Radio Control Law), 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act), and 10173 (Data Privacy Act), all prohibit the use of unregistered text blasting machines, an act that is punishable with fines and imprisonment.

SMS-blaster machines or SMS broadcaster radio machines and their use as a tool by politicians for electoral campaigns have been prevalent in the country in the past decade. This tactic aims to send text messages from a single machine to a large group of network users simultaneously.

The machines require no SIM cards and can send up to 28 texts per second or 100,000 texts an hour on any telecommunications network.

The Marcos campaign has previously been accused of utilizing such illegal campaign methods through phone networks.

WHY IT MATTERS:

The use of the untraceable and illegal text blast machines are used not only to prop a politician’s agenda but also to widely distribute misinformation materials. The public has also aired grievances on how text blast mechanisms violate their data privacy, as no consent is given for these politicians to contact them through their mobile numbers. – Xander Dave Ceballos & Lhesly Charm Matias

Altermidya Network is part of #FactsFirstPH which brings together various sectors that are committed to promoting truth in the public space and exacting accountability on those who harm it with lies. For those interested in joining the initiative, email info@factsfirst.ph.

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