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2 clusters · 8 sources · 5 days · First seen · Last updated

Philippines legislation on minors' social media access

Overview

The Philippine government is advancing legislative measures to restrict social media access for minors to protect them from exploitation, harmful content, and mental harm.

In early October 2026, the Senate approved Senate Bill No. 2424, the Child Online Safety and Protection Act, which proposes prohibiting children under 18 from accessing age-restricted platforms. Concurrently, the House of Representatives moved forward with House Bill No. 11566, which would ban children under 13 from maintaining accounts while requiring parental consent for those aged 13 to 17.

Following the House's approval of its version, the two legislative chambers must now reconcile their differing approaches—specifically the discrepancy between the Senate’s age-18 threshold and the House’s age-13 threshold—before the bill can be submitted for presidential approval. The debate has been intensified by recent school shootings in the country. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has expressed caution, suggesting that a total ban might cause children to hide online activities, which could increase vulnerability to grooming and abuse.

Entities

House of Representatives of the Philippines · Ferdinand Marcos Jr. · Meta Platforms · Alphabet · TikTok

Timeline

  1. [POLITICS] 3 sources
    Philippines lower house approves bill restricting minors' social media access

    The Philippine lower house has approved a bill to ban social media access for children under 13, following Senate support for stricter age restrictions to address child safety and recent school violence.

  2. [POLITICS] 5 sources
    Philippines advances legislation to restrict minors' social media access

    The Philippine Senate and House are advancing bills to restrict minors' access to social media and strengthen digital safeguards to protect children from online exploitation and harmful content.

Sources

astig.ph · bicolmail.net · devdiscourse.com · easternvisayasmediawithoutborders.com · haziallat.hu · japantimes.co.jp · newsline.ph · palawandailynews.com