What to know: Actor Mon Confiado’s cyber libel complaint vs content creator Ileiad (www.rappler.com)

submitted 4 weeks ago by decadentrebel@lemmy.world to c/philippines@lemmy.world

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[-] decadentrebel@lemmy.world 3 points 4 weeks ago

tl,dr: Mon Confiado is suing someone for using him as the placeholder on the grocery store copypasta.

It's a stupid lawsuit and why I hate cyber libel. It's a meme! It's unfortunate that many took it literally (that's Filipinos on the internet for you), but to say the guy had malicious intent is ridiculous. What does he hope to gain by deliberately ruining your reputation?

At the same time, dude should have read the room and saved himself the trouble by just deleting it. Unlike Maria Ressa who could afford to be arrogant and pay legal fees because she can recoup those costs from the ego strokes she's getting and being martyrized, you're just some guy with a pseudonym and lacking in allies. Take the L and live another day. Too late for that, though!

[-] k5nn@lemmy.world 2 points 4 weeks ago

It's a stupid lawsuit and why I hate cyber libel. It's a meme

a meme that not everyone gets especially that PH facebook full of gullible ol people and even then that copy pasta is a pretty crappy one ngl ain't even funny

[-] decadentrebel@lemmy.world 2 points 4 weeks ago

But whether or not people understood the joke or it's funny is irrelevant in the context of the lawsuit. In libel, you need to prove that the guy had malicious intent. Clearly he didn't and was just trying to be funny. People are all up in arms defending guys like Ressa and Bello for their cyber libel lawsuits when there's wayyyyy more justification there than this one. Heck, Ressa was 100x more of an asshole when the complainant reasoned with her than Ileiad's "Is this a threat".

Confiado is yet another proof why cyber libel needs to be decriminalized. It's all good when the case has merit, but it's too open to abuse. No one should be detained just because someone got butthurt.

[-] k5nn@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

i think decriminalized is a bit of stretch more like needs to be better defined

[-] decadentrebel@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

The point of decriminalizing it is that you don't have to do jail time while awaiting trial. Sure you can post bail, but it's 1) anti-poor, 2) libel is not a heinous act wherein the safety of the public is in jeopardy if the accused is allowed to wander, 3) it inconveniences the accused for something that the courts would likely trash, and thereby 4) make it prone to abuse and as a tool for harassment.

If you want to teach someone a lesson to be responsible for their actions, then the fine and/or jail time after they're proven guilty should suffice.