PH Lawmaker pushes for regulation of social media content creators
Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman said at a press briefing in March 2025 that she was eyeing the creation of a Digital Council of the Philippines composed of stakeholders such as content creators, digital advertisers, public relations firms; the Department of Information and Communications Technology, National Bureau of Investigation; and representatives of social media platforms Facebook (Meta), Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter).
She said the inclusion of government agencies would toughen the council whose primary task is to regulate and fact-check online posts. She has also proposed the registration of social media influencers and vloggers. “And then this group will come up with their own Code of Ethics and standards that have to be followed. [The council] would also receive complaints from victims of fake news and they will fact-check [content],” Roman said.
Meanwhile, the new head of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) expressed support for the creation of a regulatory body to rein in online content creators or “vloggers” who spread fake news. In an interview, PCO chief Jay Ruiz said the government, as an alternative to the regulation of vloggers, may need to step up efforts to educate netizens about their responsibility to disseminate only the truth.
“We are studying the possibility [of regulating social media content], and we hope it would somehow push through, especially in the case of those who are responsible for spreading false contents,” he added. “I believe it’s about time that we resort to regulation—or if not regulation, at least to notify the vloggers, the social media users about their responsibilities to the public,” Ruiz said. He noted there were no government agencies monitoring social media contents and their creators.
In early February, a total of 40 social media personalities and representatives from various online platforms were invited to the House of Representatives tri committee’s first hearing. The panels on public order and safety; public information; and information and communications technology started looking into the spread of fake news and disinformation nationwide. The House inquiry was a chance to “refine ethical frameworks in the digital space” while maintaining safeguards against harmful content.
Social media influencer and former Presidential Communications Office secretary Trixie Cruz Angeles on March 21, 2025 called the third hearing of the House of Representatives’ “Tricomm” committee as “interesting” after several of her peers were admonished by lawmakers over alleged misinformation spread on social media. However, Angeles also said that any regulation of social media may “run afoul” of the constitutional provision of free speech.
Reference: Regulation of socmed content creators pushed
