Malacanang on Monday backed the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s move to monitor social media posts to catch lockdown violations, saying a person’s right to privacy is waived once a photo is posted online.

As some groups expressed concern on indiscriminate surveillance, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque argued that technology is also used by other countries to hunt down crime suspects and gather evidence for cases

“Social media monitoring is not prohibited so there’s nothing wrong if our police would check what is posted in social media,” Roque told reporters in a televised briefing.

“I think when it comes to monitoring social media, you already posted so there’s like a waiver of privacy when it is already posted on social media,” he added.

The Palace official also said that monitoring social media was not listed as a violation of the country’s Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which aims to address legal issues concerning online interactions in the country.

All police commanders were told to monitor social media for violations of quarantine protocols as some people “inadvertently” shared photos of mass gathering online.

Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, who heads the Joint Task Force COVID-19 Shield, said the PNP would respect users’ privacy and would only monitor posts that are public.

Eleazar said the police would rely on viral photos and videos, as well as the complaints reported by concerned citizens through social media pages of the PNP.

He made the assurance after Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said the PNP is using the pandemic to turn the Philippines into a “police state.” (Daily Tribune)