Monitoring social media for quarantine violations not illegal – Roque

Malacañang said Monday there is nothing illegal with the police monitoring social media to look for individuals who commit quarantine violations amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a televised briefing that such a measure is not illegal, mainly if the posts were made public.

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“Pinost po ‘yan eh so parang nagkaroon po ng waiver of privacy diyan kapag posted na po ang isang bagay sa social media,” Roque, a lawyer, said.

(It was posted, so it looks like there was a waiver of privacy there when something was posted on social media.)

“Wala pong mali doon sa ginagawa ng pulis kung tinitignan lang nila kung ano ang mga naka-post sa social media. Hindi po iyan iligal,” he added.

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(There is nothing wrong with what the police are doing if they just look at what is posted on social media. That is not illegal.)

Roque added police forces in developed countries have been using technology for law enforcement.

Joint Task Force COVID data showed more than 365,000 quarantine violators had been warned, fined, and charged since March 17.

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Also read: COVID-19 clusters highest in communities, BPOs, transportation – DOH

Monitoring quarantine violations through social media

Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, chief of the PNP Joint Task Force COVID Shield, clarified Sunday that the social media monitoring on quarantine violations would be limited to viral photos and videos and reports from concerned citizens.

Eleazar said Saturday that the PNP would “regularly monitor” various social media platforms to identify individuals with quarantine violations.

“We will not invade the privacy of our netizens in posting. What we will monitor are violations like public drinking sessions and parties because these are prohibited and dangerous,” he said in an interview with radio station dzBB.

He added there was a huge possibility of COVID-19 transmissions in such activities.

The PNP official explained the police social media monitoring would be limited to reports sent to the agency’s official accounts such as Facebook and Twitter, and viral pictures and videos. “These are what we will act on,” he said.