Research

As the national university, we champion and support innovative research that addresses the country’s most pressing challenges.

09 Jul 2026

The levels of radioactive gas in three well-known caves in Bohol are higher than international safety standards

Caves are popular tourist spots in the Philippines, especially in places like Bohol Island. But while they attract visitors with...

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08 Jul 2026

Using eucalyptus oil to modify a renewable carbon paste electrode creates an effective tool for detecting toxic lead ions

Heavy metals are one of the most serious environmental pollutants and contaminants due to their toxicity. They are nonbiodegradable and...

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07 Jul 2026

To afford medicine, families in a low-income municipality often turn to alternative or cheaper treatments, borrow money, or use their savings

The World Health Organization identifies non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—also referred to as chronic diseases—as the leading cause of global mortality, accounting...

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06 Jul 2026

Pigmented rice holds strong potential to improve the technological, nutritional, and sensory properties of bakery products and snacks

Rice is a vital global crop, supplying 60–70% of the daily caloric intake for more than two billion people across...

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03 Jul 2026

At the turn of the twenty-first century, labor history declined as the indigenization movement, specifically Pantayong Pananaw, shifted academic focus to Philippine language and culture

Between 1959 and 1985, only seven studies on the Philippine labor movement were made due to security risks under the...

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02 Jul 2026

Researchers have discovered four new fault zones beneath the sea west of Luzon, branching out from the main Philippine Fault Zone

The Philippine Fault Zone (PFZ) is a major fault system linked to earthquakes and crustal movement across the Philippines. Understanding...

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01 Jul 2026

Believing others expect perfection increases Filipino students’ vulnerability to poor well-being and unhealthy coping

Perfectionism is an important characteristic among university students, given its associations with their well-being and coping. One approach to studying...

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30 Jun 2026

Resident dropouts and fellow resignations are often driven by mental health issues, unmet expectations, specialty changes, and illness

Attrition in the medical training programs not only affects the specialty but also the hospital, the trainee’s career path, and...

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26 Jun 2026

A new “virtual forest” simulation models how changing forest management impacts ecosystems, economies, and communities

The Philippines has lost much of its natural forest due to decades of logging and land conversion, creating a shortage...

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25 Jun 2026

Measuring the Goos-Hänchen shift distinguishes silicon from gallium arsenide

An immediate analogy for our study can be found in a familiar sight: a straw in a glass of water...

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24 Jun 2026

Using higher-resolution sea surface temperature data enhances typhoon rainfall simulations

The most extreme rainfall that we experience in the Philippines are that from tropical cyclones. The more intense a tropical...

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23 Jun 2026

Study examines barriers to identifying human remains in the Philippines and explores forensic odontology as a solution

An effective strategy for human remains identification with a high success rate and low cost is vital for low to...

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Research

Think only authoritarian regimes spy on their citizens? Think again. A new study finds that democracies— yes, even the ones that are supposed to protect your rights—are more likely than autocracies to snoop on your Facebook data.

The study, recently published in the journal Democratization, looked at Facebook’s transparency reports from 176 countries over ten years (2013–2023). These reports show how often governments ask Facebook for user information, such as messages, photos, or account details. By comparing this data with how democratic each country is based on well-known indices, it was found that democracies actually make more data requests than authoritarian governments. More alarmingly, many of these requests are made during so-called “emergencies” and do not go through normal legal channels. The study refers to this phenomenon as the “democratic surveillance paradox” because governments that are supposed to protect citizens’ rights engage in more surveillance and justify it as necessary for national security or public safety. Ironically, the more responsive a democracy is expected to be, the more pressure it feels to act fast. This means skipping safeguards meant to protect citizens’ privacy. The findings matter especially in a time when social media has become ubiquitous, and the line between safety and surveillance is getting blurry. If democracies are doing this in secret, how different are they from the regimes they criticize? The study is also a wake-up call. In the age of social media, even the freest societies need stronger checks to stop government overreach.

This finding is surprising and, at the same time, troubling. In theory, democratic governments are supposed to protect individual rights, respect privacy, and promote freedom of expression. But in practice, they may use those same values, raising the need for the state to ensure transparency and accountability, to justify surveillance. Democracies, precisely because they are expected to respond quickly and effectively to threats, end up requesting more data from platforms like Facebook than authoritarian states do.

What makes the study stand out is how it uses real-world data to show that even countries with strong legal institutions can sidestep safeguards by relying more and more on emergency powers. This has serious implications for everyone. It suggests that surveillance is not just a problem in non-democratic countries; it is becoming normal even in societies that claim to be free. If democracies are increasingly behaving like “stalker states,” it raises serious concerns on how we can safeguard our personal information and ensure government actions remain transparent and accountable in a world where so much of our daily lives takes place online.

Author: Rogelio Alicor L. Panao (Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2025.2484575