THE House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill that would prohibit children below 13 years old from creating or using social media accounts and restrict access for teenagers to online features that expose them to harm or encourage excessive use.
Under House Bill (HB) 11566, or the proposed Safe and Friendly Environment for Kids in Digital Spaces (SAFE KIDS) Act, children below 13 would be prohibited from creating, registering, maintaining or using social media accounts, while those aged 13 to below 18 would be allowed restricted access to digital platforms.The House approved the measure on Monday, Oct. 12, with 287 votes in favor, three against and none abstaining.
The bill seeks to address risks associated with children’s use of social media and online gaming platforms, including cyberbullying, online grooming, sexual exploitation and exposure to harmful content.For teenage users, digital platforms would be required to prohibit certain harmful features, including unsafe communications and functions that may encourage excessive or compulsive use.
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The measure also provides for the creation of a SAFE KIDS Office under the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), which would be primarily responsible for implementation. Digital platforms that fail to comply with the proposed safeguards would face penalties.Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, who co-sponsored the measure and chaired its technical working group, said the bill seeks to ensure that children’s participation in the digital world is accompanied by safeguards for their welfare.
“The concern, therefore, is not whether children should have a place in the digital world. They already do,” Romulo said in a statement released Tuesday.“The question before us is whether the digital environment in which they grow up provides adequate safeguards for their safety, development, and well-being,” he added.
Romulo said the measure seeks to establish clear responsibilities for digital platforms and ensure that children’s rights and welfare remain central as technology evolves.
“The policy question is therefore not simply one of access versus prohibition. It is a question of how access should be structured, what safeguards must accompany it, and who should be accountable when those safeguards are absent,” he said.
The bill’s provisions would establish age-based restrictions on social media use, designate a government office to oversee implementation and impose penalties for noncompliance by digital platforms.The Senate approved its version, Senate Bill (SB) 2424 titled the Safe Media Access and Responsible Technology for Kids in Digital Spaces (SMART KIDS) Act.
Both chambers will need to undergo a bicameral conference to reconcile key differences before a final bill can be sent to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for signing into law.SB 2424 sets a strict 18-and-under restriction while HB 11566 uses a tiered model starting at age 13, so lawmakers must resolve the disparity between the two age thresholds.
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