[Table of Contents]
PART V
FINAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 30. Extent of Liability of a Service Provider – Except as otherwise provided in this Section, no person or party shall be subject to any civil or criminal liability in respect to the electronic data message or electronic document for which the person or party acting as a service provider as defined in Section 5 merely provides access if such liability is founded on –
a) The obligations and liabilities of the parties under the electronic data message or electronic document;
b) The making, publication, dissemination or distribution of such material or any statement made in such material, including possible infringement of any right subsisting in or in relation to such material: Provided, That
i. The service provider does not have actual knowledge, or is not aware of the facts or circumstances from which it is apparent, that the making, publication, dissemination or distribution of such material is unlawful or infringes any rights subsisting in or in relation to such material;
ii. The service provider does not knowingly receive a financial benefit directly attributable to the unlawful or infringing activity; and
iii. The service provider does not directly commit any infringement or other unlawful act and does not induce or cause another person or party to commit any infringement or other unlawful act and/or does not benefit financially from the infringing activity or unlawful act of another person or party: Provided, further, That nothing in this Section shall affect –
- (a) Any obligation founded on contract;
- (b) The obligation of a service provider as such under a licensing or other regulatory regime established under written law; or
- (c) Any obligation imposed under any written law;
- (d) The civil liability of any party to the extent that such liability forms the basis for injunctiverelief issued by a court under any law requiring that the service provider take or refrain from actions necessary to remove, block or deny access to any material, or to preserve evidence of a violation of law.
Sec. 31. Lawful Access – Access to an electronic file, or an electronic signature of an electronic data message or electronic document shall only be authorized and enforced in favor of the individual or entity having a legal right to the possession or the use of the plaintext, electronic signature or file and solely for the authorized purposes. The electronic key for identity or integrity shall not be made available to any person or party without the consent of the individual or entity in lawful possession of that electronic key.
Sec. 32. Obligation of Confidentiality – Except for the purposes authorized under this Act, any person who obtained access to any electronic key, electronic data message, or electronic document, book, register, correspondence, information, or other material pursuant to any powers conferred under this Act, shall not convey to or share the same with any other person.
Sec. 33. Penalties – The following Acts shall be penalized by fine and/or imprisonment, as follows:
a) Hacking or cracking which refers to unauthorized access into or interference in a computer system/server or information and communication system; or any access in order to corrupt, alter, steal, or destroy using a computer or other similar information and communication devices, without the knowledge and consent of the owner of the computer or information and communications system, including the introduction of computer viruses and the like, resulting in the corruption, destruction, alteration, theft or loss of electronic data messages or electronic document shall be punished by a minimum fine of one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) and a maximum commensurate to the damage incurred and a mandatory imprisonment of six (6) months to three (3) years;
b) Piracy or the unauthorized copying, reproduction, dissemination, distribution, importation, use, removal, alteration, substitution, modification, storage, uploading, downloading, communication, making available to the public, or broadcasting of protected material, electronic signature or copyrighted works including legally protected sound recordings or phonograms or information material on protected works, through the use of telecommunication networks, such as, but not limited to, the internet, in a manner that infringes intellectual property rights shall be punished by a minimum fine of one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) and a maximum commensurate to the damage incurred and a mandatory imprisonment of six (6) months to three (3) years;
c) Violations of the Consumer Act or Republic Act No. 7394 and other relevant or pertinent laws through transactions covered by or using electronic data messages or electronic documents, shall be penalized with the same penalties as provided in those laws; d) Other violations of the provisions of this Act, shall be penalized with a maximum penalty of one million pesos (P1,000,000.00) or six (6) years imprisonment.
Sec. 34. Implementing Rules and Regulations – The DTI, Department of Budget and Management and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas are hereby empowered to enforce the provisions of this Act and issue implementing rules and regulations necessary, in coordination with the Department of Transportation and Communications, National Telecommunications Commission, National Computer Center, National Information Technology Council, Commission on Audit, other concerned agencies and the private sector, to implement this Act within sixty (60) days after its approval.
Failure to issue rules and regulations shall not in any manner affect the executory nature of the provisions of this Act.
Sec. 35. Oversight Committee – There shall be a Congressional Oversight Committee composed of the Committees on Trade and Industry/Commerce, Science and Technology, Finance and Appropriations of both the Senate and House of Representatives, which shall meet at least every quarter of the first two years and every semester for the third year after the approval of this Act to oversee its implementation. The DTI, DBM, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and other government agencies as may be determined by the Congressional Committee shall provide a quarterly performance report of their actions taken in the implementation of this Act for the first three (3) years.
Sec. 36. Appropriations – The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of Secs 27 and 28 of this Act shall be charged against any available funds and/or savings under the General Appropriations Act of 2000 in the first year of effectivity of this Act. Thereafter, the funds needed for the continued implementation shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
Sec. 37. Statutory Interpretation. – Unless otherwise expressly provided for, the interpretation of this Act shall give due regard to its international origin and the need to promote uniformity in its application and the observance of good faith in international trade relations. The generally accepted principles of international law and convention on electronic commerce shall likewise be considered.
Sec. 38. Variation by Agreement – As between parties involved in generating, sending, receiving, storing or otherwise processing electronic data message or electronic document, any provision of this Act may be varied by agreement between and among them.
Sec. 39. Reciprocity – All benefits, privileges, advantages or statutory rules established under this Act, including those involving practice of profession, shall be enjoyed only by parties whose country of origin grants the same benefits and privileges or advantages to Filipino citizens.
Sec. 40. Separability Clause – The provisions of this Act are hereby declared separable and in the
event of any such provision is declared unconstitutional, the other provisions, which are not affected, shall remain in force and effect.
Sec. 41. Repealing Clause – All other laws, decrees, rules and regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
Sec. 42. Effectivity – This Act shall take effect immediately after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.
Approved: 14 June 2000.
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