Jonathan Frederic De Santos

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<p>MANILA — A now-deleted post by meme and satire page FTTM showing an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on a public road with a caption: &quot;LEAKED GTA VI Caloocan City&quot; falls under protected speech, the lawyer for the page said.</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fttmph/posts/pfbid0kppaEyxKpxjh6YYB6WfeREvkP3Wzgb8sWATVkJkbU2BDmjRB3G5Jf1YUUgMTecKul">statement</a> Saturday, lawyer Alexandra Soledad said FTTM has filed a joint counter-affidavit to the cyber libel complaint of a Caloocan City government worker, who was the driver of the ATV and who is a person with disability (PWD).</p><p>FTTM, or Follow The Trend Movement, makes meme content from online trends and from user-submitted content. It used to feature Twitter screenshots, when it was still billed as Filipino Tweets That Matter. </p><p>Soledad said the post was a &quot;satirical parody&quot; combining GTA VI — a reference to the video game Grand Theft Auto VI — with a third-party image showing the ATV plying the public road, which she said is prohibited by the Land Transportation Office.</p><p>She said the post was social commentary and was not directed at any individual.</p><p>&quot;The reference [to] the unreleased video game underscored the absurdity of the scene and was aimed at the traffic violation and setting, and not at any individual,&quot; the lawyer said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/4/pcg-spox-slaps-sass-sasot-with-cyber-libel-raps-1505"><strong>PCG spox slaps Sass Sasot with cyber libel suit<br/></strong></a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>FTTM DENIES MALIGNING PWDs</strong></div><p>The Caloocan City employee filed the complaint against the people behind FTTM for allegedly making fun of a PWD through the meme post.</p><p>The complainant said the post was equivalent to cyber libel and unjust vexation under the Revised Penal Code in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, and a violation of PWD rights under Magna Carta on Persons with Disabilities or R.A No. 7277 in relation to R.A. No. 9442.</p><p>Soledad however, said the case &quot;runs counter to one of FTTM&#x27;s advocacies — to uphold the rights of PWDs, and their several pro-PWD posts substantiated this inconsistency.&quot;</p><p>&quot;FTTM maintains that the content contains no reference, direct or implied, to any person&#x27;s disability, and was created without malicious intent. The complainant is neither identified nor targeted in the post,&quot; she said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/6/23/amid-fake-pwd-ids-govt-eyes-unified-system-to-avert-revenue-losses-1658"><strong>Amid fake PWD IDs, govt eyes unified system to avert revenue losses</strong></a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;CHILLING EFFECT&#x27;</strong></div><p>&quot;As a media platform producing satirical commentary on matters of public concern, FTTM affirms that such expression is protected under the Constitution,&quot; Soledad said.</p><p>The lawyer also stressed that penalizing satire based on &quot;misinterpretation&quot; will pose a &quot;chilling effect and serious threat to free speech,&quot; adding it could also discourage legitimate social commentary online.</p><p>Press freedom and freedom of expression advocates have long campaigned for the decriminalization of libel, which they say has been used to silence and intimidate critical reporting and dissent. </p><p>Bills to decriminalize libel have so far failed to hurdle Congress despite a bar in the Constitution against laws &quot;abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/9/hontiveros-files-cyber-libel-complaint-vs-ex-senate-witness-vloggers-1236"><strong>Hontiveros files cyber libel complaint vs ex-Senate witness, vloggers<br/></strong></a></div><p>&quot;We will explore all legal remedies to safeguard our clients&#x27; interest and defend Constitutionally protected freedoms of the press and free expression,&quot; FTTM&#x27;s counsel said.</p>

<p>A now-deleted post by meme and satire page FTTM showing an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on a public road with a caption: "LEAKED GTA VI Caloocan City" falls under protected speech, the lawyer for the page said.</p>

A now-deleted post by meme and satire page FTTM showing an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on a public road with a caption: "LEAKED GTA VI Caloocan City" falls under protected speech, the lawyer for the page said.

Meme page FTTM fights libel case, says its 'GTA VI' post is protected speech

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Meme page FTTM fights libel case, says its 'GTA VI' post is protected speech

ABS-CBN News

Published August 10, 2025 01:45 PM PHT

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