A House technical working group is reviewing proposals to restrict minors’ access to social media, including a bill that would prohibit children below 13 from creating accounts and require parental consent for users aged 13 to 17.
The technical working group of the House Committee on the Welfare of Children, chaired by Pasig City representative Roman Romulo, is seeking to reconcile measures proposing different age limits and safeguards for children using social media.
Some bills would prohibit social media access for children below 13, while others would impose restrictions on all users below 18.
Among the proposals is House Bill No. 9965, authored by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III and majority leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos.
The measure would ban social media accounts for children below 13 and allow those aged 13 to 17 to use the platforms only with verifiable parental consent and continuing parental supervision.
The bill would also require the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), in coordination with the Department of Education, to integrate a “Digital Literacy and Ethical Use of Social Media” module into the K-to-12 curriculum.
“Hindi po natin puwedeng i-asa sa pagbabawal lamang ang kaligtasan ng ating mga anak. If we teach our children how to read and write, in the Age of Social Media, we must also equip them with the knowledge to recognize lies and misinformation on the internet,” Dy said.
The proposed module would cover the evaluation of online information, the influence of algorithms on content, cyberbullying, online exploitation, harmful content, responsible digital citizenship, and healthy screen-time habits.
“Ang pinakamalaking panganib ay hindi lamang kung ano ang nakikita ng ating mga kabataan sa social media — kundi kung ano ang paulit-ulit na pinipiling ipakita sa kanila ng mga algorithm. Kaya dapat natin silang bigyan ng kaalaman at kakayahang maging mapanuri, mag-isip nang mabuti, at maunawaan kung paano naaapektuhan ng bawat scroll ang kanilang pananaw sa mundo,” Dy said.
HB 9965 would also direct the DICT to conduct periodic training for teachers and awareness seminars for parents and children below 18.
“Hindi natin maaaring ipaubaya sa teknolohiya ang pagpapalaki ng ating mga anak. Kasama sa laban na ito ang mga magulang, mga guro, at ang buong pamahalaan. Kapag iisa ang mensahe sa bahay at sa paaralan, mas magiging ligtas ang ating mga kabataan sa online world,” Dy said.
“Ang layunin ng panukalang ito ay hindi ang ilayo ang mga bata sa teknolohiya. Ang hangarin po natin ay tiyaking hindi sila magiging biktima nito.”
Apart from age restrictions and digital education, the bill proposes stronger obligations for social media platforms and greater parental involvement in children’s online activities.
