Philippine lawmakers move to avert growing risks of socmed use by minors
Meta has been blamed for allowing disinformation, scams, deepfakes, online abuse and violent content to spread through Facebook. Apparently, it has failed to respond quickly to harmful material, including the livestream of the fatal Ateneo de Zamboanga University shooting. This horrible incident reasonably provoked public anger.
Calls for a social media ban for children have emerged amid fears that unrestricted online access influenced the students who were behind the shooting incidents at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City on June 22 and Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Zamboanga City on Aug. 18.
Three students were killed during the Tacloban shooting, while two, including the gunman, were confirmed dead after the incident at Ateneo de Zamboanga University. The offenders in both incidents were seemingly exposed to violent content online, or joined groups involved in senseless violence.
A House of Representatives panel has proposed a full social media ban for children below 13 and restrictions on the said technology’s use for those aged 13 to 18, as a means to shield young people from harmful content online.
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During a Sept 8 hearing of the House committee on the welfare of children, Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo presented the still unnumbered substitute bill to 10 proposals seeking to protect minors from the dangers of unabated social media use. He said, the full ban for children below 13 is meant to restrict them from having any screen time.
“Basically the bill now will be a ban on all social media platforms for those under 13. What we want is for them not to have any screen time,” said Romulo, chair of the House committee on basic education and culture and head of the technical working group that crafted the substitute bill.
The proposed restrictions for those aged 13 to 18 will cover viewing short videos, using messaging applications, and accessing harmful content. “For those 13 to below 18 years of age, we will have a ban on features such as harmful content, which is defined in the law [as] topics revolving around violence, sex, and similar topics,” Romulo said.
Meanwhile, Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos has thrown his support behind proposals to restrict social media use for children aged 14 and below amid fears that the internet is being used by drug syndicates to recruit young people and even engage in drug trade through coded communication.
In a statement in August 2026, Santos said he was in favor of the proposal that would ban children from In June 2026, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading a bill that seeks to strengthen the country’s protections against online child sexual abuse and exploitation, with new safeguards addressing threats posed by artificial intelligence (AI). House Bill No. 9461 or the proposed Child Online Safety and Protection Act of 2026 got 284 votes in the plenary session.
The bill strengthens and expands Republic Act No. 11930, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials Act, by broadening enforcement mechanisms and updating legal protections to address emerging threats.
References: House panel OKs social media ban for kids
