In the case of Christian Cadajas y Cabias v. People of the Philippines G.R. No. 247348, Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez ruled that photos and messages from Facebook Messenger or other social media platforms obtained from individuals are now admissible as evidence in court proceedings. The ruling convicted the petitioner, Christian C. Cadajas to life imprisonment for violating RA 9775 or also known as Anti-Child Pornography Act, this is in fact that he coerced a 14 year old girl into sending photos of her private parts through Facebook Messenger. The Court ruled that the crime of Child Pornography is penalized under a special law and be defined as mala in se.
The 14 year old girl had deleted her messages in Facebook Messenger but the Mother of the girl insisted her daughter to open the petitioner’s Facebook Messenger and use the conversation as an evidence in court. The petitioner wished that it should be excluded as evidence since it was obtained in violation of his rights to privacy.
The Constitution’s Bill of Rights protects private citizens from government intrusion into their privacy, and any evidence gathered is inadmissible for use in any action for any purpose. The Supreme Court held that Section 3 of the Bill of Rights was invalid in this case because Candajas voluntarily gave his Facebook Messenger password to the minor and was not obtained by a police officer or other state agency. There is no violation on the petitioner’s privacy since by giving his password the minor, the petitioner lost any reasonable expectation over the contents of his accounts. The minor can show its content to whoever she wants whether forced or not.
The court also ruled that the petitioner is not subject to the limitations imposed by the Data Privacy Act (DPA), as the law permits the processing of personal data where it pertains to the assessment of a data subject’s criminal responsibility.
The Supreme court found Cadajas guilty beyond reasonable doubt and was sentenced to reclusion perpetua, and was asked to pay a fine of P1 million.
Sources:
G.R. No. 247348. November 16, 2021
https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/28020/
SC: Photos, Messages from Facebook Messenger obtained by Private Individuals Admissible as Evidence. June 17, 2022