Moreno says he will hold app companies liable for fake news

Presidential candidate and Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko" Moreno on Monday said he will hold app companies liable for the proliferation of fake news on their social media platforms.

At the Catholic e-forum, Moreno was asked about his plans against fake news should he be elected as president.

The Aksyon Demokratiko standard bearer said the immediate and short-term solution he sees is to hold the app companies liable.

"We make this application company [be] held liable in destroying society, lives, and personality by allowing somebody to use their technology," he said.

Moreno, however, did not provide any specifics.

"Hindi pa nadadala 'yang mga 'yan. Para bang wala silang pakialam sa buhay natin. Kahit ano i-post mo diyan basta kumita lang sila at our expense, our society, o lipunan natin," he added.

(They are not bothered. It seems like they don't care about our lives. You can post anything as long as they earn money at our expense, at the expense of our society.)

He said he will shut down the app companies "if they refuse to listen."

"Because I cannot allow being influenced by foreign entity 'yung ating kultura, kustumbre, tradisyon, at bilang pagkatao, at katatayuan sa lipunan," he said.

(Because I cannot allow our culture, customs, tradition, and character to be influenced by foreign entities.)

The Manila mayor said there is a technology for "them not to exist in our country."

"And I'll have to follow. While we believe in freedom of expression, we believe in democracy, but there is a responsibility to it," he said.

Meanwhile, Moreno's long-term solution involves the strengthening of the country's Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) program.

"The values formation, kailangan magsimula 'yan sa bata pa lang. Kasi sabi nga sa, ano ba 'yun sa Ingles, you cannot teach old dog new tricks," he said.

(The values formation needs to start at childhood. Just like what they say, you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.)

"So I think we should go back to the early childhood education, approach it there, embed natin 'yung good moral and right conduct and with that, naturally, lumilinaw ang pag-iisip ng tao how to discern," he added.

(So I think we should go back to early childhood education, let's start there, embed the good moral and right conduct, and with that, the individual's capacity to discern will develop.)—AOL, GMA News