Note: This is a pre-print version of the article. Visit this link for the published version: https://cgscholar.com/bookstore/works/technology-law-enforcement-and-illegal-camcording-in- philippine-cinemas Citation: Ballano, Vivencio. 2021. "Technology, Law Enforcement, and Illegal Camcording in Philippine Cinemas: A Preliminary Analysis." The International Journal of Sustainability Policy and Practice 17 (1): 51-62. doi:10.18848/2325-1166/CGP/v17i01/51-62. _________________________________________________________________________________ Technology, Law Enforcement, and Illegal Camcording in Philippine Cinemas: A Preliminary Analysis Vivencio O. Ballano Faculty Researcher (FR), Research Institute for Human and Social Development (RIHSD), Associate Professor V, Department of Sociology, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), email: voballano@pup.edu.ph Abstract This paper examines the law enforcement mechanism for the implementation of the Anti-illegal Camcording Act of 2010 in selected Philippine cinemas against film piracy and illegal camcording. Using sociological perspectives, especially some tenets of the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), and qualitative data from testimonies of 20 student-informants who witnessed actual illegal camcording of some cinemas in Metro Manila, interview from the chairperson of the Optical Media Board (OMB), Philippines’ lead agency against media piracy, personal observation and experience of the author as a movie goer, media reports, and secondary literature and the Actor-network Theory (ANT) as the primary theoretical framework, it argues that an effective law enforcement against illegal camcording entails an efficient and effective use of human and technological surveillance and policing using the latest digital technologies. Results showed that that illegal camcording which occurred in some cinemas in Metro Manila as witnessed by the study’s student informants, were primarily caused by the lack of efficient human monitoring by cinema personnel and government agents, as well as by the absence of the latest surveillance and detection technologies which could have deterred illegal recording of films by pirates inside the movie theater. The recommends an efficient human and technological surveillance in cinemas employing the latest anti-piracy technologies to implement the law. Keywords: Actor-Network Theory (ANT), Film Piracy, Illegal Camcording, Technology, Law Enforcement Introduction