Movie Review - I.T. (2016)

The 2016 movie entitled “I.T.” is written by Dan Kay and William Wisher and directed by John Moore. It is a story of a Mike Regan (Pierce Brosnan). He is a successful businessman that has a family, his wife is Rose Regan (Anna Friel) and his daughter is Kaitlyn Regan (Stefanie Scott), and lived in a smart home. It problem started when Kaitlyn Regan complained and whined about how slow their internet connection is so Mike invited their company’s I.T. consultant, Ed Porter(James Frecheville), to their house to fix their WiFi and he also offered a high end GPS system for Mike’s car (I also think that Ed purposely did the error during the app presentation, which is Omni Jet, at the company so he could get the attention by fixing it). His life turned miserable because of his skillful I.T. consultant, Ed Porter. He began stalking his daughter and reprogrammed his smart home to be under his control. He also manipulated Mike’s business concerns and her wife’s medical results giving their family a hard time after the claim of being used (his I.T skills) by Mike. Ed also reprogrammed Mike’s car (the high end GPS system that he installed in his car) and almost killed him by manipulating the wheels (I think). Fortunately, Mike did not lose hope and thirsty for revenge. He began deleting everything that has a connection to Ed and completely turned his home ordinary to the point that they used candles as lightings (I found it funny). He then hired someone that can help him find Ed and end his miserable life, Henrik (Michael Nyqvist) which is also an I.T. expert. They found where Ed hides and got all drives containing all information about Ed’s doings, including theirs. The interesting part is where Henrik asked him to choose between destroying the drives or use it as evidence to put Ed to jail. He chose to use it as evidence and turned it to the police but he forgot one thing, he also committed a crime, barging in to Ed’s place. After the police incident, he returned to his home only to find out that Ed was there and took his daughter and wife as a hostage. Both Mike Regan and Ed Porter released their anger and fight. Mike ended up killing Ed. After that, Mike’s life and his family turned to its normal way of living. I think what Mike did was the right one by choosing the drives as evidence to prove that Ed has some mental issues and did really terrible things. Although destroying the drives will shorten the case and the police incident might not happen, the fact that Ed is still out somewhere out there is frightening since Ed has some mental issues. I think it will still ended up to Ed being in their house and take Mike’s wife and daughter as hostages if Mike chose to destroy the drives since Ed will definitely aim revenge for ruining his hideout and destroyed his precious drives. Either way, they will still end up fighting and kill each other.

Republic Act No. 10175 - Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012

The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 10175, is a law in the Philippines approved on September 12, 2012. It aims to address legal issues concerning online interactions and the Internet in the Philippines. Among the cybercrime offenses included in the bill are cybersquatting, cybersex, child pornography, identity theft, illegal access to data and libel.


It recognizes the vital role of information and communications industries such as content production, telecommunications, broadcasting electronic commerce, and data processing, in the nation’s overall social and economic development.



Salient features of Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012:

1. Punishable acts: (1) offenses against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and systems such as illegal access, illegal interception, data interference, system interference, misuse of devices and cyber-squatting, (2) computer-related offenses such as forgery, fraud and identity theft, (3) content-related offenses such as cybersex, child pornography, unsolicited commercial communication and libel, and (4) other offenses such as aiding or abetting, and attempt in the Commission of Cybercrime.

2. Offenses 1 and 2 shall be punished with imprisonment of prision mayor or a fine of at least Two hundred thousand pesos (PhP200,000.00) up to a maximum amount commensurate to the damage incurred or both

3. Misuse of devices shall be punished with imprisonment of prision mayor or a fine of not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (PhP500,000.00) or both

4. If offense 1 are committed against critical infrastructure, the penalty of reclusion temporal or a fine of at least Five hundred thousand pesos (PhP500,000.00) up to maximum amount commensurate to the damage incurred or both, shall be imposed.

5. Cybersex shall be punished with imprisonment of prision mayor or a fine of at least Two hundred thousand pesos (PhP200,000.00) but not exceeding One million pesos (PhP1,000,000.00) or both.

6. Child pornography shall be punished with the penalties as enumerated in Republic Act No. 9775 or the “Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009”: Provided, That the penalty to be imposed shall be one (1) degree higher than that provided for in Republic Act No. 9775, if committed through a computer system.

7. Unsolicited commercial communication shall be punished with imprisonment of arresto mayor or a fine of at least Fifty thousand pesos (PhP50,000.00) but not exceeding Two hundred fifty thousand pesos (PhP250,000.00) or both.

8. Offense 4 shall be punished with imprisonment one (1) degree lower than that of the prescribed penalty for the offense or a fine of at least One hundred thousand pesos (PhP100,000.00) but not exceeding Five hundred thousand pesos (PhP500,000.00) or both.

9. The Act creates a new inter-agency body for policy coordination.

10. Law enforcement authorities, with due cause, shall be authorized to collect or record by technical or electronic means traffic data in real-time associated with specified communications transmitted by means of a computer system.

11. The integrity of traffic data and subscriber information relating to communication services provided by a service provider shall be preserved for a minimum period of six (6) months from the date of the transaction.
12. Content data shall be similarly preserved for six (6) months from the date of receipt of the order from law enforcement authorities requiring its preservation.

13. The Act makes a distinction between subscriber information and traffic data

14. Attempts to do the punishable acts listed above are now punishable.

http://www.gov.ph/2012/09/12/republic-act-no-10175/

The law became controversial because it claims to be about fighting child pornography, identity theft and file sharing when there are larger issues at stake in the language. The libel provision is the most controversial to the point that people could be punished for negative comments toward the police or government through internet, social media such as Facebook. The ban on adult pornography and file-sharing is an assault on free speech in a different form, after all.

Cybercrime is a criminal activity that entails the use of a computer system, computer technology, or the internet. Almost everyone uses the internet. Cybercrime can happen anytime. Libel is one of the punishable acts under the law so intentional bullying through the internet is a crime. I do experience a lot of bullying during my early teenage days since I am also a victim. I receives degrading words and also fake accusations that made me cry. I am an antisocial person before, still now too, so I kept it to myself and I knew that we were just kids back then. I realized now that cybercrime law is around, I used social media less. If I post, reply or message anyone, I think before I write.

Republic Act 8792 – The E-Commerce Law

Republic Act 8792, was signed into law last June 14, 2000. It is a landmark legislation in the history of the Philippines. Not only has this bill made the country a legitimate player in the global marketplace. The Philippine Internet community has played a major role in pushing for its passage. The law took effect last June 19, 2000.

With the Philippines relaxed stock market listing rules plus a proposed vibrant investment priorities program in place, Filipinos here and abroad, and its foreign partners, have something to look forward for.

Here are the salient features of Republic Act 8792:

1. It gives legal recognition of electronic data messages, electronic documents, and electronic signatures. (section 6 to 13)

2. Allows the formation of contracts in electronic form. (section 16)

3. Makes banking transactions done through ATM switching networks absolute once consummated. (section 16)

4. Parties are given the right to choose the type and level of security methods that suit their needs. (section 24)

5. Provides the mandate for the electronic implementation of transport documents to facilitate carriage of goods. This includes documents such as, but not limited to, multi-modal, airport, road, rail, inland waterway, courier, post receipts, transport documents issued by freight forwarders, marine/ocean bill of lading, non-negotiable seaway bill, charter party bill of lading. (section 25 and 26)

6. Mandates the government to have the capability to do e-commerce within 2 years or before June 19, 2002. (section 27)

7. Mandates RPWeb to be implemented. RPWeb is a strategy that intends to connect all government offices to the Internet and provide universal access to the general public. The Department of Transportation and Communications, National Telecommunications Commission, and National Computer Center will come up with policies and rules that shall lead to substantial reduction of costs of telecommunication and Internet facilities to ensure the implementation of RPWeb. (section 28)

8. Made cable, broadcast, and wireless physical infrastructure within the activity of telecommunications. (section 28)

9. Empowers the Department of Trade and Industry to supervise the development of e-commerce in the country. It can also come up with policies and regulations, when needed, to facilitate the growth of e-commerce. (section 29)

10. Provided guidelines as to when a service provider can be liable. (section 30)

11. Authorities and parties with the legal right can only gain access to electronic documents, electronic data messages, and electronic signatures. For confidentiality purposes, it shall not share or convey to any other person. (section 31 and 32)

12. Hacking or cracking, refers to unauthorized access including the introduction of computer viruses, is punishable by a fine from 100 thousand to maximum commensurating to the damage. With imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years. (section 33)

13. Piracy through the use of telecommunication networks, such as the Internet, that infringes intellectual property rights is punishable. The penalties are the same as hacking. (section 33)

14. All existing laws such as the Consumer Act of the Philippines also applies to e-commerce transactions. (section 33)

http://digitalfilipino.com/salient-features-of-republic-act-8792-the-e-commerce-law/

Only few knew that Electronic Commerce Act exists and is really important since technology rises from time to time. I am working with my research paper and finding related studies, literature, articles and journals is hard. Nowadays, electronic documents are the easiest to find. In this case, Republic Act 8792, section 7 plays an important role. Altering or changing a part of it unauthorized is not a good idea. Citing an electronic, written literature and studies is challenging because the idea cited must retain its original idea, unaltered and unchanged. Electronically plagiarized a work can also be done. That is why I am more careful when I cite articles and journals, you may never know that you already did it.