Computer Professionals' Union

Last updated
Computer Professionals' Union
AbbreviationCPU
Formation2001
TypeNon-stock, non-profit
PurposeAdvancing Information Communication Technology for the Filipino people
HeadquartersQuezon City
Location
  • Philippines
Official languages
Filipino, English
National Coordinator
Rick Bahague
Deputy National Director
Gladys Regalado [1]
Website www.cp-union.com

Computer Professionals' Union (CPU or CP-Union) is a mass organization of information and communications technology (ICT) professionals, practitioners, and workers in the Philippines. It is registered in the Philippines as a non-stock, non-profit, non-government organization that promotes activist ICT principles and organize ICT professionals to provide ICT services to Filipino people. [2] [3] Their office is located at Quezon City and their current National Coordinator is Rick Bahague. [4]

Contents

Some of CPU initiatives include Software Freedom Day celebration in the Manila, [5] [6] promotion of Free and Open Source Software [7] including Drupal, [8] and collaboration with Wikimedia Philippines. [9]

History

The organization was started in 2001 by a group of information communications technology practitioners. They officially registered under the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission in 2008 as a non-profit and non-stock corporation.

Activism

Meeting of Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia Philippines, and Computer Professionals' Union at the CPU office in Quezon City. Third from the left is National Director Rick Bahague, and first from the right is Deputy National Director Gladys Regalado 2011WikimediaPhilippineTour035.JPG
Meeting of Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia Philippines, and Computer Professionals' Union at the CPU office in Quezon City. Third from the left is National Director Rick Bahague, and first from the right is Deputy National Director Gladys Regalado

CPU is notable for its belief that the ICT sector in the Philippines is controlled and dominated by foreign monopoly capitalists, which stunts the growth and development of Filipino technology and economy. [3] CPU supports a truly nationalist and democratic government that will advance and promote a people's ICT. [3] CPU believes that, like farmers, workers, and other sectors in the country, ICT workers also need to organize in order to advance their specific needs. [2]

A year before the 2010 Philippine general elections, CPU warns sophisticated cheating with the Philippines' first automated polls. [10] They had hosted a national conference in University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City to discuss the automated election system (AES). [11] Rick Bahague, CPU National Coordinator said that the goal of the conference was to gather experiences and best practices in technologies relevant to AES. He further said that software bugs in the AES system can affect machines to be used in the elections and the automated election system is vulnerable to manipulation from inside or outside attacks. [11]

During the height of the protests against Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in January 2012, CPU expressed strong opposition to it. [12] They said that SOPA and PIPA that were being pushed in the United States Congress attack free speech and expression and would have impacts to human rights groups, bloggers, advocacy groups and all content creators in the web. They believed that any website can be closed without due process. [12]

In September 2012, Philippine President Aquino signed the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 enacted by 15th Congress of the Philippines. The law had led numerous sectors including Computer Professionals' Union to protest it. [13] [14] According to CPU, sections of the law may have various interpretations that may lead to intentional or non-intentional misinterpretations by State authorities wherein computer users can be punished without due process. [15] They further said that Section 19 of the law has become far worse than SOPA and PIPA. [14]

Organization tenets

In advancing CPU's advocacy, these are their principles:

Pandayan sa Daluyan, an event organized by CPU in May 2012 at Iligan City in Mindanao PandayanSaDaluyan6.JPG
Pandayan sa Daluyan, an event organized by CPU in May 2012 at Iligan City in Mindanao

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cybercrime</span> Type of crime based in computer networks

Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or networks. These crimes involve the use of technology to commit fraud, identity theft, data breaches, computer viruses, scams, and expanded upon in other malicious acts. Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks to gain unauthorized access, steal sensitive information, disrupt services, and cause financial or reputational harm to individuals, organizations, and governments.

Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is a Washington, D.C.–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation that advocates for digital rights and freedom of expression. CDT seeks to promote legislation that enables individuals to use the internet for purposes of well-intent, while at the same time reducing its potential for harm. It advocates for transparency, accountability, and limiting the collection of personal information.

Green computing, green IT, or ICT sustainability, is the study and practice of environmentally sustainable computing or IT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Philippine University</span> Private university in Iloilo, Philippines

Central Philippine University, also known as Central or CPU, is a private university located in Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines. It was established in 1905 through the benevolent grant of the American industrialist and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller. It is the first Baptist and second-American founded university in the Philippines and Asia. The university was initially known as the Jaro Industrial School and Bible School, under the supervision of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society.

In 2003 and following years, initiatives were instituted to improve internet access for people with disabilities in the Philippines. These measures were inspired by the UNESCAP "Asia-Pacific Decade for Disabled Persons" (1993–2002). Key organizations included the government body National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (Philippines) and the private sector body Philippine Web Accessibility Group (PWAG). The "Disabled Friendly Website Awards" were launched to encourage web designers to incorporate universal access. Since 2009 unhampered access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been in the second National Human Rights Action Plan of the Philippine government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet in the Philippines</span> Overview of the Internet in the Philippines

Internet in the Philippines first became available on March 29, 1994, 10:18 a.m., with the Philippine Network Foundation (PHNet) connecting the country and its people to Sprint in the United States via a 64 kbit/s link. As of February 2023, there are 85.16 million internet users in the country, where internet penetration stood at 73.1% of the total population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass media in the Philippines</span> Mass media in the Philippines

Mass media in the Philippines consists of several types of media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema, and websites.

CPU is a computer's central processing unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PROTECT IP Act</span> US Senate Bill

The PROTECT IP Act was a proposed law with the stated goal of giving the US government and copyright holders additional tools to curb access to "rogue websites dedicated to the sale of infringing or counterfeit goods", especially those registered outside the U.S. The bill was introduced on May 12, 2011, by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and 11 bipartisan co-sponsors. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that implementation of the bill would cost the federal government $47 million through 2016, to cover enforcement costs and the hiring and training of 22 new special agents and 26 support staff. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill, but Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) placed a hold on it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop Online Piracy Act</span> Failed United States bill

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was a proposed United States congressional bill to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to combat online copyright infringement and online trafficking in counterfeit goods. Introduced on October 26, 2011, by Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), provisions included the requesting of court orders to bar advertising networks and payment facilities from conducting business with infringing websites, and search engines from linking to the websites, and court orders requiring Internet service providers to block access to the websites. The proposed law would have expanded existing criminal laws to include unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content, imposing a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protests against SOPA and PIPA</span> Series of protests in 2012

On January 18, 2012, a series of coordinated protests occurred against two proposed laws in the United States Congress—the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). These followed smaller protests in late 2011. Protests were based on concerns that the bills, intended to provide more robust responses to copyright infringement arising outside the United States, contained measures that could possibly infringe online freedom of speech, websites, and Internet communities. Protesters also argued that there were insufficient safeguards in place to protect sites based upon user-generated content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012</span> Law in the Philippines

The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 10175, is a law in the Philippines that was approved on September 12, 2012. It 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.

Information and communication technology (ICT) in Kosovo has experienced a remarkable development since 1999. From being almost non-existent 10 years ago, Kosovar companies in the information technology (IT) domain offer today wide range of ICT services to their customers both local as well as to foreign companies. Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe, with advanced knowledge in ICT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magna Carta for Philippine Internet Freedom</span>

The Magna Carta for Philippine Internet Freedom is an internet law bill filed in the Congress of the Philippines. The bill contains provisions promoting civil and political rights and Constitutional guarantees for Philippine internet users, such as freedom of expression, as well as provisions on information and communications technology (ICT) policy, ICT4D, internet governance, e-governance, cybersecurity, cyberwarfare, cyberterrorism, and cybercrime.

In the Philippines, censorship involves the control of certain information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department of Information and Communications Technology</span> Executive department of the Philippine government

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the planning, development and promotion of the country's information and communications technology (ICT) agenda in support of national development.

Information Communications Technology is usually included in the Home Economics and Livelihood Education program in grade school and taught through the Technology and Home Economics program in high school. The recent status of ICT education in the Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian countries, was surveyed by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) in 2011. Using the UNESCO model of ICT Development in Education, the countries were ranked as Emerging, Applying, Infusing or Transforming. The Philippines were ranked at the Infusing stage of integrating ICT in education, indicating that the country has integrated ICT into existing teaching, learning and administrative practices and policies. This includes components such as a national vision of ICT in education, national ICT plans and policies, complementary national ICT and education policies, professional development for teachers and school leaders, community or partnership and teaching and learning pedagogies. A 2012 study reported that public high schools in Metro Manila had a computer to student ratio of 1:63. While 88 percent of schools have internet connections, half of the students claimed not to be using it.

The digital divide the Philippines refers to inequalities between individuals, households, and other groups of different demographic and socioeconomic levels in the Philippines in access to information and communication technologies ("ICTs") and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information gained from connecting.

Cybersex trafficking, live streaming sexual abuse, webcam sex tourism/abuse or ICTs -facilitated sexual exploitation is a cybercrime involving sex trafficking and the live streaming of coerced sexual acts and/or rape on webcam.

References

  1. Joe Torres (18 February 2014). "Philippine Supreme Court makes controversial ruling on libel". UCA News . Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 "What is CPU?". Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "About Computer Professionals' Union". Computer Professionals' Union. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  4. "Software Freedom Day 2012: Going Green with the Free and Open Source Community". 6 September 2012. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  5. Peachy Limpin (14 September 2005). "LOADING... Country Celebrates Software Freedom Day 2005". Manila Bulletin . Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  6. "RP's biggest 'Software Freedom Day' set Saturday". GMA News. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  7. "Free and Open Source". Computer Professionals' Union. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  8. "DrupalCamp3D: Down and Dirty with Drupal". Computer Professionals' Union. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  9. "Wikipedia East Asia Tour". Wikimedia Philippines. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  10. Ronalyn V. Olea (4 April 2009). "Computer Experts Warn of Sophisticated Dagdag Bawas with Automated Polls". Bulatlat. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  11. 1 2 "IT groups to meet to discuss automated polls". GMA News . 21 April 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  12. 1 2 "Computer Professionals' Union opposes SOPA and PIPA Act". Davao Today. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  13. "Why we protest the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012? (A Briefer)". Computer Professionals' Union. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  14. 1 2 "Internet activists, LGBTs join clamor for nullification of cybercrime law". Bulatlat. 27 September 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  15. John Rizle L. Saligumba (30 September 2012). "Martial Law in the digital age?". Davao Today. Retrieved 8 January 2013.