MAC: The Internet Hero from UP Los Baños

"Technology is helpful to build a society where technology is used to empower people.'' 

These phrases came from the Founding President of the UP Internet Freedom Network, Mac Andre Arboleda, with his advocacy of 'Internet Freedom' on the 41st Episode of "Bilib Kami Sa'Yo" segment aired last May.  

Once the interview began, Mac Andre Arboleda introduced himself. He is an independent artist and is a master’s student at the University of The Philippines (UP) Los Baños majoring in Internet Studies. 

Watching his enthusiasm with Digital Media is very inspiring, as he views it as relevant work not only for himself but also for others; he aims to help everyone to be more conscious of using the online platform without affecting their freedom of expression. In the middle of the Pandemic, he decided to make a program which is termed today as “The UP Internet Freedom Network”. The network consists of 30 members coming from different courses with the same objective.

He noticed that most of the activists from UP Los Baños were facing threats and red-tagging incidents on their personal Facebook accounts. Later, He decided to conceptualize 'Internet Freedom', looking at Facebook as a political space on par with Human Rights. 

Prior to that, he introduced his particular basis for the Coverage of Internet Freedom, starting with the 2015 Philippine Internet Declaration Rights. 

The 2015 Philippine Internet Declaration of Rights: 

1. Internet Access for all.
2. Democratizing the architecture of the Internet.
3. Freedom of Expression and Association.
4. Right to Privacy & Protection of Personal data.
5. Gender Equality.
6. Openness and Access to Information, Knowledge, and culture.
7. Socio-economic Empowerment and Innovation.
8. Education and Digital Literacy
9. Liberty, Safety, and Security on the Internet.
10. Internet and ICTs for Environmental Sustainability.

Giving all the significance of Digital Media Rights, he mentioned all of their innovative activities throughout the year that discusses the ideal meaning of the Internet in today's aspects. He further concluded that as a youth, everyone must be responsible for understanding Internet Freedom.    

He finished off the interview with these words, "We are all familiar with the Internet, As we all see how Internet Freedom is getting worse, Instead, we need to study Internet Freedom and give a chance to be a part of Organizations related to Internet Freedom and Digital Human Rights".