Social Media Safety Act

Senate Office of the Secrctary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES FEB -2 P4:18 First Regular Session SENAIZ35 S.B. No. - RECEIVED BY: Introduced by SENATOR IMEE R. MARCOS AN ACT ESTABLISHING A MINIMUM AGE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA USE, PRESCRIBING OBLIGATIONS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES EXPLANATORY NOTE Article II Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution states that, "the State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being." According to the Unicef, as of 2020, 60 percent of Filipino children aged 10 to 17 are active internet users. Filipino kids generally first go online at 10 years old, although this age has been going down. Plan International - Philippines released a 2024 report on the digital platform activity of children. Children primarily use digital platforms for communication (64.3%), education (47.7%), leisure (37.2%), and stress reduction (34.3%), with Facebook (33.2%) and Messenger (23.3%) as the most widely used platforms, followed by TikTok (23%), Instagram (13.9%), and Twitter/X (6.6%). Despite widespread use, children and youth in the Philippines are regularly exposed to content or behavior online that makes them feel unsafe. In fact, 85.56% of respondents reported encountering such issues, with 57.26% saying it happens multiple times. From inappropriate content to online abuse, the challenges are real, and for many, it's a constant battle.

In addition, extreme, inappropriate, and harmful content continues to be easily and widely accessible by children and adolescents. In certain cases, childhood deaths have been linked to suicide and self-harm-related content and risk-taking challenges on social media platforms. This may be especially risky for children and adolescents who are already experiencing mental health issues. Despite social media providing a sense of community, some social media platforms show live depictions of self-harm acts like partial asphyxiation, leading to seizures, and cutting, leading to significant bleeding, which in turn, somehow normalize such behaviors. Excessive social media use has also been established as harmful due to the disruption of healthy behaviors. Social media platforms are often designed to maximize user engagement, which has the potential to encourage excessive use and behavioral dysregulation. Medical studies have found a consistent link between social media use and poor sleep quality, reduced sleep duration, and sleep difficulties among youth. This is particularly important given that poor sleep has been linked to altered neurological development in adolescent brains, depressive symptoms, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The harmful effects of social media on children are exacerbated by the fact that children of ages 10 to 19 are undergoing a highly sensitive period of brain development. During this period, brain development is especially susceptible to social pressures, peer opinions, and peer comparison. Adolescent social media use is predictive of a subsequent decrease in life satisfaction for certain developmental stages including for girls 11-13 years old and boys 14-15 years old. Studies have shown that children who spend more than 3 hours per day on social media face double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes including symptoms of depression and anxiety. Further, children today are sleeping less and comparing themselves to each other more, resulting in the rise of exposure to abusive behavior, and fundamentally rewiring their brains in a period of highly sensitive brain development.

Thus, limiting the use of social media has been associated with mental health benefits for young adults and adults. Studies have shown that limiting social media use led to significant improvements in depression severity. This proposal aims to protect the youth against the harmful effects of social media by restricting children below the age of sixteen from accessing social media services. Social media platforms will be required to block access to children below the age of sixteen through age-verification mechanisms compliant with the Data Privacy Act. In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. Free h. Marca IMÉE R. MARCOS+

Senate Office of the Secretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES FEB -2 P4:19 First Regular Session SENATE S.B. No. 1735 RECEIVED BY: Introduced by SENATOR IMEE R. MARCOS AN ACT ESTABLISHING A MINIMUM AGE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA USE, PRESCRIBING OBLIGATIONS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Social Media Safety

2 Act."

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - Pursuant to the policy of the State to protect

4 the physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being of the youth, the State 5 recognizes the risks and dangers posed by social media, including, but not limited to, 6 cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content, and addiction driven by predatory 7 algorithms. Towards this end, the State shall mandate social media platforms to implement rigorous safeguards and age-verification measures to prevent children from 9 accessing their social media services.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act:

a. Age-restricted User refers to a child who has not reached the age of sixteen (16) years; and b. Social Media Platform refers to any internet-based service, network, website, computer program or application whose primary or significant purpose is to enable online social interaction and information, among users, allowing them to link, interact, and post user-generated content.

Sec. 4. Minimum Age Restrictions. - Children below the age of sixteen (16)

18 years old shall be prohibited from registering and using social media accounts, except

for supervised educational purposes as authorized by the Department of Education 2 (DepEd).

Sec. 5. Duties of Social Media Platform Providers. - Social media platform

providers shall provide reliable age verification and assurance technologies to prevent 5 age-restricted users from registering, accessing, or continuing to use their services. 6 They shall: a. Use identity authentication systems, such as ID verification, facial recognition, and other identity authentication systems; b. Conduct regular audits to deactivate existing accounts held by age-restricted users; C. Mitigate circumvention by preventing account reactivation or the creation of duplicate accounts by previously restricted users; d. Provide functional content filtering tools and parental control features to users; and e. Adopt prompt response mechanisms for reports of age-restricted users on the platform.

Sec. 6. Data Privacy. - All personal information collected by social media

platforms for purposes of implementing age verification measures and complying with age restriction requirements shall be subject to the provisions of Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as the "Data Privacy Act of 2012" and all other applicable data protection laws, rules and regulations. Violation of this provision shall be subject to penalties under this Act, the Data Privacy Act of 2012, and any other administrative, civil, or criminal penalties as may be prescribed by law.

Sec. 7. Role of the Department of Information and Communications Technology

(DICT). - The DICT shall serve as the primary implementing agency of this Act. In line with this mandate, the DICT shall have the following powers and functions: a. Monitor compliance of social media platforms providers with age restrictions, identity verification protocols, and other requirements under this Act; b. Establish reporting mechanisms for violations of this Act; c. Conduct investigations, motu proprio or upon complaint, on alleged violations of this Act;

d. Issue Disabling Orders directing the takedown, removal, or deactivation of accounts found in violation of age restrictions; e. Impose penalties in accordance with Section 8 of this Act; and f. Coordinate with relevant government agencies, including the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), National Privacy Commission (NPC), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and DepEd, to ensure consistent, child-sensitive, and effective enforcement of this Act.

Sec. 8. Penalties. - Any social media platform provider that fails to comply with

9 any provision of this Act, including but not limited to, the failure to implement 10 adequate age verification systems, refusal to comply with a Disabling Order, or unauthorized retention or misuse of personal data collected under this Act, shall be subject to the following penalties: a. A fine of not less than One Million Pesos (Php 1,000,000) but not exceeding Twenty Million Pesos (Php 20,000,000) for each act of non-compliance, depending on the gravity and frequency of the violation; b. A fine of not more than One Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 100,000) for each day of continuing violation after due notice; and C. Suspension or revocation of access, operations, or licenses within the Philippines upon a finding of gross negligence, repeated non-compliance, or willful violation, subject to due process. The imposition of the above penalties shall be without prejudice to prosecution under the Data Privacy Act of 2012, the Republic Act No. 10175 otherwise known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, or any other applicable laws.

Sec. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days from

the effectivity of this Act, the DICT, in coordination with the DepEd, NTC and NPC, shall formulate the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of this Act.

Sec. 10. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive

order, letter of instruction, administrative order, ordinance, rule or regulation, or other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 11. Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of this Act is declared

2 unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision not affected thereby shall remain in force and effect.

Sec. 12. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following

5 the completion of its publication either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of 6 general circulation in the Philippines. Approved,