Checking children’s ages online could help keep them safe, but it also raises a question: How much personal information should websites and apps collect to prove someone’s age?
That concern was among the issues raised during a discussion on the proposed SAFE Kids and SMART KIDS Acts, organized by Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra and GoDigital Philippines.
“Protecting children online is a responsibility we all share,” said Atty. Mark Gorriceta, chair and managing partner of Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra and chair of GoDigital Philippines. “But effective legislation requires careful consideration of how safeguards will work in practice, who will be responsible for implementing them, and how we can protect children without unnecessarily restricting freedom of expression, privacy, and access to information. The goal should be policies that are clear, proportionate, enforceable, and workable.”
Participants said age checks need to work without collecting more personal information than necessary. They also discussed how to prevent these checks from making it harder for people to use online services.
Restrictions could affect children who use websites and apps to learn, create, and find information. Speakers said rules should consider what children do online and the different risks they face on each service.
“The question is not simply whether children should be allowed or prohibited from accessing social media,” said Undersecretary Renato “Aboy” Paraiso, Executive Director of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC). “We must also consider how restrictions can be designed to provide real and measurable protection while recognizing children’s ever-changing capacities, their access to information, and their legitimate participation in digital spaces.”
Paraiso cited cyberbullying, online sexual abuse and exploitation, and online grooming as threats that technology companies need to help address. He also noted that technology companies also have a responsibility to make their services safer for children.
“The policy question is not simply how many children can we keep off a platform. It is also what do we preserve for children while we reduce the risks,” said Kankan Ramos, COO of InvictusPH, a marketing and communications agency.
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