The Department of Justice issued a warning to the country’s telecommunication companies for their “misleading” and “unfair business practice” because of their imposition of data throttling when customers avail of unlimited Internet access packages.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima warned telcos that the imposition of fair usage policy (FUP) on unlimited internet service may be considered as a form of misleading or unfair business practice. It is punishable under the provisions of Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines. A fine of Php10,000 or imprisonment of five months to one year or both may be slapped.
“The imposition of data throttling on unlimited internet could also be regarded as a violation of the provisions prohibiting false, misleading or deceptive advertisements, hence, deemed punishable in accordance with law,” De Lima said.
The advisory was issued after the DOJ-Office for Competition received a complaint with regard to Touch Mobile’s “Astig FB” promo, which is marketed as unlimited access to Facebook.