Manila: The Supreme Court (SC) has established guidelines for determining the ownership or control of social media accounts in criminal cases, following the conviction of an individual for psychological violence via Facebook.
According to Philippines News Agency, the SC's First Division affirmed the conviction of an individual referred to as 'John' for psychological violence against his ex-girlfriend, 'Mary.' This decision, outlined in a 30-page document, was made public on Friday. John had posted derogatory statements about Mary on Facebook, which led to the legal proceedings.
John and Mary were in a relationship for three years, during which Mary became pregnant. Despite John's proposal, Mary refused marriage due to their ongoing issues and chose to raise their child alone with her parents. The situation escalated when Mary's siblings received a Facebook message from an account they recognized as John's, accusing Mary of causing his mother a heart attack.
Subsequently, Mary discovered that the same account had publicly posted derogatory statements about her in Kapampangan, threatening violence. Concerned for her safety, Mary filed a complaint against John for violating Republic Act No. 9262, known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children (Anti-VAWC) Act, and obtained a protection order.
During the trial, evidence included screenshots of the Facebook posts. Mary testified that she had created the account for John, but he had been the one using it. Her siblings corroborated her claim, having received messages from John through the account.
John, however, denied ownership of the account, suggesting that someone else could have used his photo to create a fake account. He claimed he was working as a waiter without phone access at the time of the posts. Despite his denials, the Family Court and the Court of Appeals found him guilty, noting that both he and his current partner identified the individuals in the profile photo.
The SC emphasized that in criminal cases, the prosecution must prove both the crime's elements and the offender's identity. Recognizing the widespread use of Facebook in the Philippines, the SC outlined guidelines for establishing social media account ownership. These include evidence of admission, access, personal knowledge, consistent language, and technical data linking the account to the offender.
Applying these guidelines, the SC concluded that John was responsible for the Facebook post. The account bore his full name and featured a profile photo of him with his child. The post included information only John would know, such as Mary's nickname and the fact that she had blocked him.
The SC ruled that the criteria for psychological violence were met, as Mary suffered public ridicule. John received a sentence of up to eight years in prison, a fine of PHP100,000, and was ordered to undergo psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment.
