124
Erwin A. Alampay, Joselito C. Olpoc, and Regina M. Hechanova
Access to Information versus Security
The Internet has become a valuable resource for Philippine organizations and workers
in obtaining information. A previous study revealed that one of the most popular
reasons for using the Internet is research.
26 Yet the value of providing employees access
to information is also tempered with concerns about security. Companies are facing
bigger and bigger risks from viruses and malicious programs that are intentionally or
unintentionally downloaded while employees are online. Companies also lose some
level of productivity because the large size of some fi les can clog up the bandwidth,
degrade the network, and consume valuable corporate storage space.
In qualitative responses from the employee survey, employees mentioned that
those who were caught were downloading movie fi les (e.g., TV series or pornographic
movies), music fi les, or pirated/unlicensed software. These fi les were then stored or
installed on their work computer or, in the case of one incident, stored on the shared
drive of the whole company. Employees who were caught downloading fi les were
warned, suspended, or put on probation depending on the number of times they were
caught downloading fi les that were considered unauthorized by the company.
To deal with the tension of access versus security, one approach of employers is to
place restrictions on Internet use. For example, the OpenNet Asia survey reveals that
58 percent of employers block specifi c sites (although for 37 percent, blocked sites can
be accessed if permission is requested). For a quarter of employers, accessible sites are
dependent on the nature of their job (23 percent) or are limited to specifi c computers
(21 percent).
27
Freedom of Expression versus Risk of Defamation
Information and communication technology is used to facilitate communication,
whether within the organization or between the organization and its publics. One
emerging tension emerging from this communication is that freedom of expression
can create a space for defamation, especially in the case of blogs.
Data show that a fi fth of organizations surveyed by Lingao and Tordecilla already
have ICT policies pertaining to personal blog postings.
28 These policies are also
more common among fi nancial and manufacturing fi rms. However, this is an emerging policy area among all types of organizations, as illustrated by the two following
cases.
The fi rst case is the fi rst libel suit against a Philippine blog. It was fi led in August
2005 against the institutional blog of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) by Jonathan Tiongco. He fi led six libel suits against the PCIJ, including one
case for sedition. All of them were related to the posting of the “ Hello Garci ” audio
recordings in PCIJ ’ s institutional blog. These recordings were supposed conversations
Erwin A. Alampay, Joselito C. Olpoc, and Regina M. Hechanova
Access to Information versus Security
The Internet has become a valuable resource for Philippine organizations and workers
in obtaining information. A previous study revealed that one of the most popular
reasons for using the Internet is research.
26 Yet the value of providing employees access
to information is also tempered with concerns about security. Companies are facing
bigger and bigger risks from viruses and malicious programs that are intentionally or
unintentionally downloaded while employees are online. Companies also lose some
level of productivity because the large size of some fi les can clog up the bandwidth,
degrade the network, and consume valuable corporate storage space.
In qualitative responses from the employee survey, employees mentioned that
those who were caught were downloading movie fi les (e.g., TV series or pornographic
movies), music fi les, or pirated/unlicensed software. These fi les were then stored or
installed on their work computer or, in the case of one incident, stored on the shared
drive of the whole company. Employees who were caught downloading fi les were
warned, suspended, or put on probation depending on the number of times they were
caught downloading fi les that were considered unauthorized by the company.
To deal with the tension of access versus security, one approach of employers is to
place restrictions on Internet use. For example, the OpenNet Asia survey reveals that
58 percent of employers block specifi c sites (although for 37 percent, blocked sites can
be accessed if permission is requested). For a quarter of employers, accessible sites are
dependent on the nature of their job (23 percent) or are limited to specifi c computers
(21 percent).
27
Freedom of Expression versus Risk of Defamation
Information and communication technology is used to facilitate communication,
whether within the organization or between the organization and its publics. One
emerging tension emerging from this communication is that freedom of expression
can create a space for defamation, especially in the case of blogs.
Data show that a fi fth of organizations surveyed by Lingao and Tordecilla already
have ICT policies pertaining to personal blog postings.
28 These policies are also
more common among fi nancial and manufacturing fi rms. However, this is an emerging policy area among all types of organizations, as illustrated by the two following
cases.
The fi rst case is the fi rst libel suit against a Philippine blog. It was fi led in August
2005 against the institutional blog of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) by Jonathan Tiongco. He fi led six libel suits against the PCIJ, including one
case for sedition. All of them were related to the posting of the “ Hello Garci ” audio
recordings in PCIJ ’ s institutional blog. These recordings were supposed conversations