FACT CHECK: No nationwide Facebook ban set to take effect on September 10

Claim: A nationwide Facebook ban will begin on September 10, with violators set to face penalties.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: Several videos containing the claim have been circulating on Facebook, Messenger, and TikTok as early as September 7. The most popular one has gained 9,600 reactions, 2,400 comments, and 14,700 shares as of writing.

The caption on one video reads: “Breaking news: September 10 start na Facebook ban na sa Pinas. Meron na penalty.” 

(Breaking news: Facebook ban in the Philippines starts September 10. There is already a penalty.)

Text overlaid on the video reads, “Facebook ban na sa Pinas” (Facebook banned in the Philippines). The videos show a man delivering the alleged news, claiming that violators face fines and imprisonment of up to 10 years.

Some videos also include a link to a supposedly full version of the announcement.

The facts: There is no official government announcement confirming a nationwide ban starting September 10 or any penalty for Facebook use in the Philippines. No credible media outlet has reported about this supposed ban or penalty scheme either.

Officials from the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) had previously raised the possibility of blocking the platform over child safety concerns following the Zamboanga school shooting.

Malacañang said the government is not banning Facebook, but is open to proposals to ban platforms found to be harmful to the youth. During an August 25 press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said officials needed to assess whether social media was fueling violence and fake news after the Ateneo de Zamboanga shooting.

On August 28, the Palace clarified that there is no move to block Facebook, saying that the platform has been cooperative in addressing the government’s concerns about disinformation and the rising cases of school violence. Meta has also pledged that it would share data over imminent threats with Philippine authorities.

AI-generated video, unrelated links: Several AI detection tools flagged the video as AI-generated. Hive Moderation results show it was 99.9% likely to contain AI-generated content, while Uncovai rated it 100% AI-generated and BitMind.ai rated it 89% AI-generated.

Meanwhile, link scanner urlscan.io found that the link included in the captions of some of the videos leads to an unrelated shopping site. Interacting with suspicious links can expose users to security risks, such as phishing scams. (READ: Phishing 101: How to spot and avoid phishing)

School violence linked to online extremism: The push to consider restricting Facebook followed the August 18 shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University. The incident resulted in the deaths of two people, including the shooter, who was a minor described by local officials as a “Roblox fanatic.” Roblox is a popular gaming platform where chat groups have been used to radicalize and groom minors, according to officials.

The shooting was livestreamed on Facebook, with the video staying up for around 14 minutes before being taken down. Senator Risa Hontiveros criticized Meta for this and warned of the broader threat of nihilistic violent extremism in a Senate hearing on August 20.

Debunked: Rappler has previously debunked similar false claims about a supposed Facebook ban, as well as other AI-generated videos falsely claiming a government ban or restriction:

• FALSE: Grace Poe to file bill blocking Facebook in light of ABS-CBN shutdown
• FACT CHECK: No ban on cellphone use starting April 15; video is AI-generated
• FACT CHECK: No ban on consumption of processed meats; video is AI-generated
• FACT CHECK: ‘News report’ about ‘angkas’ ban is false
• FACT CHECK: Christmas parties in schools not banned – DepEd

– James Bones/Rappler.com

James Bones is a Research and Data volunteer at Rappler. He is a fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines – Manila.

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