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Doj Opinion No 40
Doj Opinion No 40
Doj Opinion No 40
Sir: chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
This has reference to your request for a “definite ruling” on whether the
Internet business constitutes mass media which should not be given to
foreign investors pursuant to Section II (1), Article XVI of the 1987
Constitution.
“SEC.II. (1) The ownership and management of mass media shall be limited
to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations, cooperatives or
associations, wholly-owned and manages by such citizens.
…” (Art. XVI, 1987 Constitution) (Emphasis supplied)
Considering the nature and function of an Internet and the fact that it offers
three broad types of services, i.e., (1) electronic mail (e-mail) which is the
computer version of the post office as it can transmit both text and still or
moving visual messages to an addressee or multiple addresses in a mailing
list; (2) Bulletin Board System (BBS) which emulates an ordinary bulletin
board and; (3) World Wide Web (WWW) which consists of documents (with
their respective addresses) stored in the Internet containing varied
information in text, still images or graphics (see, ACLU case, supra, at pp. 836-838) ,
it may be safely said that an Internet access provided is one engaged in
offering to the owner of a computer the services of inter-connecting the
latter’s computer to a network of computers thereby giving him access to
said services offered by Internet.
(Signed)
SILVESTRE H. BELLO III
Secretary