SC: Chat logs, videos may be used as evidence

THINK as you “click.”

This is after the Supreme Court had declared that chat logs and videos can be used as evidence in order to determine if a crime has been committed.

The High Court made the decision after it affirmed the conviction of an individual for selling nude shows of girls for profit.

According to the 18-page decision of the SC, the Second Division did not give credence to the man’s argument that his chat logs with an agent who was posing as a customer is inadmissible.

Citing the Data Privacy Act of 2012, the SC explained it allows the processing of sensitive personal information when it relates to the determination of criminal liability of a data subject and when necessary for the protection of lawful rights and interests of persons in court proceedings

It also cited a previous case to which they rejected the argument of the accused that photos and conversations in Facebook messages cannot be used against him.

“Similarly, the communications, photos, and videos sought to be excluded … were submitted in evidence to prosecute him for violation of qualified trafficking and to establish AAA263603’s legal claims,” the court said.

“Thus, there is no violation of the right to privacy,” it added.

Likewise the SC noted that the Anti-Wire Tapping Law is also not applicable, since it applied to instruments used for tapping the main line of a telephone.

“By no stretch of the imagination can the recording of Skype conversations and pictures be of the same nature as ‘tapping the main line of a telephone’,” it said.

The high court had sentenced the suspect to life imprisonment for qualified trafficking in persons and fined P2 million.

He was also ordered to pay P600,000 in damages with a legal interest of 6% per annum until the finality of the decision.