I.T. Movie Reaction

I.T. is a 2016 thriller film starring Pierce Brosnan, James Frecheville, Anna Friel, and Stefanie Scott. Brosnan is Mike Regan, a self-made aviation millionaire planning to expand his empire by launching an Uber-style app for private jets. Regan seems to have it all, a dutiful wife (Anna Friel), a beautiful teenage daughter (Stefanie Scott) and a modern state-of-the-art smart home with all mod cons. However, things start to go terribly wrong when the firm’s I.T guy Ed Porter (James Frecheville) is brought in by Regan to the family home to help with some tech issues.

When Porter takes this as an opportunity to worm his way into his boss’s life, tempers start to fray resulting in Porter being fired from his job. Feeling dejected and snubbed, Porter takes it upon himself to destroy his boss’s reputation and everything he worked so hard for by using his vast I.T knowledge. Cornered and unable to second-guess Porter’s motivations, Regan takes things onto his own hands by playing his former employee at his own game.

For Mike Regan (Pierce Brosnan), he has reached it with the help of the top of the line technology. doing everything for him making him one of the best in his game, but that all has changed when he met Ed Porter, an I.T. consultant for his own company.

In a world where technology runs freely, a private man cannot hide himself even if he wants to. In sake of saving his life,his family & everything he owns, he needs to play the game in all of he can to remove the psychotic I.T. consultant he himself first wrongly welcomed.

The film presents another unrealistic situation with regards to IT practitioners. While the film deals with a very real and compelling issue such as privacy, the way it was done was just a tad unrealistic and more tailored for a movie plot. Of course, this is just nit-picking but it would’ve been better if they dwelved more on the technical aspects of smart homes, hacking, and privacy of such devices. Instead, they just put a regular hacker-looking, creepy guy that just types on a computer and somehow does something what a hacker would take a long time doing. This also reinforces the stereotype that IT practitioners are creepy, stalker dudes with no social life, and can hack into things with ease.

It's a fun premise even if there are so many logic flaws and inconsistencies, that if it were a drinking game to take a swig after finding one, you'd be face-down drunk by the very predictable third act.

Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012

The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 10175, is a law that aims to address legal issues concerning online interactions and the Internet in the Philippines. Among the cybercrime offenses included in the bill are cybersquatting, cybersex, child pornography, identity theft, illegal access to data and libel.

One of the salient features of the act is it’s definition of certain cybercrimes which is internationally consistent in Section 4 of the act. Basically, Section 4 defines the offenses against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and systems, computer-related offenses, and content-related offenses.

The following are the offenses and their penalties:

1. Illegal Access  
2. Illegal Interception
3. Data Interference
4. System Interference
5. Misuse of Devices
6. Cyber-squatting
7. Computer-related Forgery
8. Computer-related
9. Computer-related Identity Theft
10. Cybersex
11. Child Pornography
12. Unsolicited Commercial
13. Libel

Relate a provision of the law to a past experience as an IT student

I can relate almost all provisions of the law to my life as an IT student because all IT professionals are at risk of commiting offenses listed in this law. The law, covers even the most basic of the offenses that can be done online, which means that an uninformed IT student like me may be able to commit one of those and face the consequences.

The most common violation an IT student like me may commit is online libel. While it is still under debate if it is constitutional or not, libel is a very light offense with a heavy punishment under the 

Cybercrime Prevention Act.

Why is the act controversial?

The act is controversial mainly because of the provision punishing people who commit online libel and other provisions that impede with everybody’s right to freedom of speech.

Libel is defined as a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation. The Cybercrime Prevention Act punishes people who commit libel online. The main concern is this provision impedes people's right to freedom of speech. Why? Because the line separating libel and opinion is very thin. People who are just expressing their opinions may be charged with libel.

What should be done for it to become less controversial?\

What needs to be done is to amend the provisions about libel. In that way, everyone will be guaranteed free speech online unless it's a hate crime (or other forms of speech) that is punishable by other laws in the country.

The E-commerce Law of the Philippines

Republic Act 8792, also known as the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, was enacted by the congress with aims of facilitating domestic and international dealings, transactions, arrangements, agreements, contracts and exchanges and storage of information through the utilization of electronic, optical and similar medium, mode, instrumentality and technology to recognize the authenticity and reliability of electronic documents related to such activities and to promote the universal use of electronic transaction in the government and general public.

Following the spread of a computer virus created by a Filipino, the law is critical to the country’s development in the field of IT. The goals of the act are: provide a secure legal framework and environment for electronic commerce, and protect the integrity of electronic documents and electronic signatures as well as its transmission and communication so as to build and ensure the trust and reliance of the public on electronic transactions.

Some of its salient features compiled by digitalfilipino.com are:

1. Sections 3 through 13 gives legal recognition to electronic data messages, electronic documents, and electronic signatures.         
2. Allows the formation of contracts in electronic form. Through this act, electronic contracts are now valid.
3. Makes banking transactions done through ATM switching networks absolute once consummated.
4. Parties are given the right to choose the type and level of security methods that suit their needs.
5. Provides the mandate for the electronic implementation of transport documents to facilitate carriage of goods. This includes documents such as, but not limited to, multi-modal, airport, road, rail, inland waterway, courier, post receipts, transport documents issued by freight forwarders, marine/ocean bill of lading, non-negotiable seaway bill, and charter party bill of lading.
6. Mandates the government to have the capability to do e-commerce within 2 years or before June 19, 2002.
7. Mandates RPWeb to be implemented. RPWeb is a strategy that intends to connect all government offices to the Internet and provide universal access to the general public. The Department of Transportation and Communications, National Telecommunications Commission, and National Computer Center will come up with policies and rules that shall lead to substantial reduction of costs of telecommunication and Internet facilities to ensure the implementation of RPWeb.
8. Made cable, broadcast, and wireless physical infrastructure within the activity of telecommunications.
9. Empowers the Department of Trade and Industry to supervise the development of e-commerce in the country. It can also come up with policies and regulations, when needed, to facilitate the growth of e-commerce.
10. Provided guidelines as to when a service provider can be liable.
11. Authorities and parties with the legal right can only gain access to electronic documents, electronic data messages, and electronic signatures. For confidentiality purposes, it shall not share or convey to any other person.
12. Hacking or cracking, refers to unauthorized access including the introduction of computer viruses, is punishable by a fine from 100 thousand to maximum commensurating to the damage. With imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years.
13. Piracy through the use of telecommunication networks, such as the Internet, that infringes intellectual property rights is punishable. The penalties are the same as hacking.
14. All existing laws such as the Consumer Act of the Philippines also applies to e-commerce transactions.

 Why was this law enacted?

Relate a provision of the law to a past experience as an IT student

The provision penalizing people who violate the Consumer Act or Republic Act No. 7394 and other relevant or pertinent laws through transactions covered by or using electronic data messages or electronic documents, shall be penalized with the same penalties as provided in those laws.

I can relate to this provision of the law because majority of transactions happening today are happening electronically or online. I have known people who have been scammed online and are doing nothing because they don’t know that a law exists to help them in their troubles.