NBI: Leaked private convos may be subject of cybercrime complaint

Individuals whose online private conversations are leaked to the public may lodge cybercrime complaints with authorities, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) chief Jaime Santiago said Thursday.

Santiago issued the statement when asked if the posting of conversation screen shots on social media to defame an individual is prohibited.

"'Yung mga ano, private conversation tapos ia-ano, tapos ipasasa public, eh depende po 'yun doon sa naapektuhan na tao kung gusto niyang habulin 'yung mga nagpo-post ng kanilang private messages," he said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

(It depends on the affected individual whose private conversations were made public if they want to hold accountable those who posted their private messages.)

"Nasa sa kanila po 'yun, pupuwede po silang mag-file din ng kaso (it's up to them and they can file complaints)," he added.

Santiago said this is covered by the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which provides that complaints may be lodged before the NBI Cybercrime Division or the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group.

The NBI has conducted numerous operations related to such instances, Santiago said, including those involving debts.

"Partikular po 'yan, tinatrabaho po namin 'yan, at marami na po kaming na-raid. Marami na kaming na-raid na ganyan," he said.

(We working on such complaints, and we have conducted many raids.) — VDV, GMA Integrated News