Welcome to the Balkanization of the internet.

While I’m no fan of Facebook, laws like these will hamper freedom & civil rights.

I’ve always said that with Social Media, you need to worry about your friends – even if you do everything right, and your friends make a mistake or break the law, you may be found guilty by association.

This law turns that premise into reality.  If you ‘like’ a friend’s post, and that friend is found guilty of [“cybersex,” identity theft, hacking, spamming, or pornography], then you are automatically guilty of the same.

From CBSnews.com

With more than 25 million Filipinos on Facebook and close to 10 million on Twitter, Filipinos rank among the top 10 users of both sites in the world.

But if you’re one of those who seldom think twice about “liking” a friend’s post on Facebook or re-tweeting someone else’s tweet, think again. Doing so in the Philippines may land you in jail.

On Sept. 12, President Benigno Aquino III signed into law the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which defines several new acts of crimes committed online, including, among others, “cybersex,” identity theft, hacking, spamming, and pornography.But while all that’s good, certain provisions of the law have millions of Filipinos up in arms – foremost of which is online libel.

“If you click ‘like,’ you can be sued, and if you share, you can also be sued,” said Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, one of the lawmakers who voted against the passage of the law.

“Even Mark Zuckerberg can be charged with cyber-libel,” the senator said.

via Facebook’s “like” may land Filipinos in jail – CBS News.