Child Online Protection Act

TWEENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 25 JUL -7 .A10:43 First Regular Session SENATE S. No. _ Introduced by SENATOR CAMILLE VILLAR AN ACT PROVIDING PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN USING THE INTERNET EXPLANATORY NOTE The 1987 Constitution provides 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. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs.' Further, the 1987 Constitution mandates the State to also defend the right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development.? The children and the youth are the most vulnerable sectors of our society. In order for them to attain their role in building our nation, they need special protection against the deleterious effects of the internet, social media and all forms of information and communications technology. This bill seeks to strengthen and expand on the provisions of Republic Act No. 11930, also known as the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act, which lapsed into 1 Article II, Section 13, 1987 Philippine Constitution 2 Article XV, Section 3, paragraph (2), 1987 Philippine Constitution

safe and law on July 30, 2022. It will put in place mechanisms to create a age-appropriate online environment for children, to identify, prevent and mitigate the adverse impacts of information and communications technology, to promote enjoyable digital environment for children, to prohibit social media accounts for children below twelve (12) years of age, and to protect children's privacy, among others. In view thereof, I humbly call for the swift passage of this bill. Curle crucin CAMILLE VILLAR

TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 25 JUL -7 A10:43 First Regular Session SENATE S. No. _ Introduced by SENATOR CAMILLE VILLAR AN ACT PROVIDING PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN USING THE INTERNET Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the " Child Online

2 Protection Act".

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - Consistent with

• the 1987 Philippine 5 Constitution, the State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and 6 shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well- being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs. Further, it is also the policy of the State to provide special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development. The best interests of children shall be the paramount consideration in all actions concerning them, whether undertaken by public or private institutions. Every effort shall be exerted to promote the welfare of children and enhance their opportunities for a useful and happy life. The State shall vigorously promote online protection for children by securing their interactions in the internet.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. -

(a) "Application developer" or "app developer" refers to a professional responsible for designing and coding functional software programs and applications; (b) "Child" refers to person below eighteen (18) years of age or those over but are unable to fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination because of physical or mental disability or condition; (c) "Content provider" refers to an entity that supplies material such as text, music, or images for use on websites; (d) "Internet service provider" refers to a public telecommunication entity (PTE) or value-added service provider duly authorized by or registered with the National Telecommunications Commission that provides users or other entities with data connection allowing access to the internet through physical transport infrastructure, and such access is necessary for internet users to access content and services on the internet, and for content providers to publish or distribute materials online; (e) "Mobile service provider" refers to a PTE or virtual network operator, or an entity that provides mobile telecommunications service to subscribers; (f) "Notice and takedown" refers to a procedure or process for the swift removal of illegal content; (g) "Online retailer" refers to a business that sells goods over the internet and transports goods by mail or parcel delivery; (h) "Social media" refers to a digital technology that allows the sharing of ideas and information, including text and visuals, through virtual networks and communities; (i) "Social media platform" refers to an online forum, website, or application that satisfies each of the following criteria: (a) Allows users to upload content or view the content or activity of other users; (b) Ten (10%) percent or more of the daily active users who are below

eighteen (18) years of age spend on average 2 hours per day or longer on the online forum, website, or application on the days when using the online forum, website, or application during the previous 12 months or, if the online forum, website, or application did not exist during the previous 12 months, during the previous month; (c) Employs algorithms that analyze user data or information on users to select content for users; and (d) Has any of the following addictive features: (1) Infinite scrolling, which means either: (i) Continuously loading content, or content that loads as the user scrolls down the page without the need to open a separate page; or (ii) Seamless content, or the use of pages with no visible or apparent end or page breaks. (2) Push notifications or alerts sent by the online forum, website, or application to inform a user about specific activities or events related to the user's account. (3) Displays personal interactive metrics that indicate the number of times other users have clicked a button to indicate their reaction to content or have shared or reposted the content. (4) Auto-play video or video that begins to play without the user first clicking on the video or on a play button for that video. (5) Live-streaming or a function that allows a user or advertiser to broadcast live video content in real-time. (e) "User-generated content" refers to any form of visual media that is created by users of an online system, and made accessible via social media.

Sec. 4. Creating a Safe and Age-Appropriate Online Environment for Children.

- In pursuit of creating a safe and age-appropriate digital environment for children of diverse ages, mobile service providers, internet service providers, content providers, online retailers, app developers, and user-generated content, interactive and social

media providers shall: (a) Develop a child protection or safeguarding policy to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse impacts of information communication technology on children; (b) Integrate due diligence on child online protection issues into risk assessment frameworks at the organizational and product or technology levels to identify adverse impacts on children that are directly linked to their operations, products or services; (c) Establish operational-level grievance and reporting mechanism for any child's rights violations such as inappropriate content or contact and breach of privacy; (d) Use customer terms and conditions and/or acceptable use policies to explicitly state the company's position on the misuse of its services and the consequences of any abuse; (e) Develop notice and take down (NTD) and reporting processes that allow users to report inappropriate content or contact on the specific profile/location where it was observed; (f) Employ appropriate technical measures to prevent underage access and exposure to inappropriate content or services such as parental control tools, age-differentiated experiences with password-protected content, block/allow lists, purchase/time controls, opt-out functions, filtering and moderating; (g) Ensure that content and services that are not age-appropriate for all users are marked with prominent display options to control access or offered together with age verification, if possible; (h) Adapt and implement heightened default privacy settings for collection, processing, storage, sale and publishing of personal data, including location-related information and browsing habits gathered from children; (i) Offer clear reporting tools and develop processes to act on reports of inappropriate content, contact and misuse and provide detailed feedback to service users on the reporting process; and (i) Monitor where, when, and how children may encounter potentially

harmful advertising messages intended for another market segment.

Sec. 5. Identification, Prevention and Mitigation of the Adverse Impacts of

ICT. - Internet service providers shall identify, prevent and mitigate the adverse impacts of information and communications technologies on children's rights and identify opportunities to support the advancement of children's rights. Towards this end, all ISPs shall: (a) Identify customers' age where appropriate and implement a suitable solution to individual services; (b) Provide mechanisms such as parental control software and tools that enable parents to manage their children's access to internet resources in the form of white lists, content filters, usage monitoring, contact management, or time/program limits; (c) Within the service itself, at the point of uploading content, include reminders about such topics as the type of content that is considered to be inappropriate; and (d) Provide children with information on safer internet use on the landing page.

Sec. 6. Promoting Enjoyable Digital Environment for Children. - User-

generated- content, interactive and social media service providers shall create a safer, more enjoyable digital environment for children of diverse ages by taking the following actions: (a) Communicate in customer-friendly language within the terms of service and user guidelines a clear set of house rules that define (i) the nature of the service and what is expected of its users, (ii) what is and is not acceptable in terms of harmful content or behaviors, (iii) language as well as prohibiting illegal usage; and (iv) consequences of any breach; (b) Enforce minimum age requirements and take steps to identify and remove underage users who have misrepresented their age to gain access; (c) Protect younger users from uninvited communication and ensure that privacy and information-collection guidelines are in place; (d) Review hosted images and videos and delete the inappropriate ones when

found; and (e) Ensure that secure passwords are used as a step towards protecting children in gaming and other social media settings and develop tools that actively seek to remove content that is illegal or in breach of the terms of condition and service as well as tools to prevent uploading of known illegal content to the site.

Sec. 7. Electronic Identification Requirement. - Social media providers and

other similar online platforms shall require online users to submit a valid proof of identification prior to registration for their services. For Philippine-based users, government-issued identification cards shall be sufficient proof of identification for purposes of this Act. Existing members shall be required to submit a valid identification card as a condition for continuing membership on their platform.

SEC. 8. Regulated Use of Online Platforms by Children. - Children below

twelve (12) years of age shall be strictly prohibited from creating or maintaining personal accounts on online platforms, social media sites, or digital applications regardless of parental consent. Children above twelve (12) years old but below eighteen (18) years of age shall not be allowed to create or maintain personal accounts on online platforms, social media sites, or digital applications, except when such accounts are established and actively supervised by their parents or legal guardians for educational, recreational, or other age-appropriate purposes. Online platforms shall implement reasonable measures to ensure child safety, age-appropriate content, privacy protection, and accessible parental controls.

SEC. 9. Protection of Children's Privacy. - Mobile network operators are

hereby prohibited from collecting, using or disclosing personal information from children in a manner that violates the provisions of this Act. An operator of such website or online service or the operator's agent shall not be held liable for any disclosure made in good faith and following reasonable procedures in responding to a request for disclosure of personal information to the parent of a child as provided under this Act.

SEC. 10. Consent for Collection of Personal Information from Children. - As

a rule, no website, online service, mobile application, or social media platform, directed at children or any operator who are collecting personal information from children, shall collect, use, or disclose such personal information without first obtaining verifiable parental consent. Provided that, the operator shall provide notice on the website or online service of what information is collected from children, how the operator uses such information, and the operator's disclosure for such information.

SEC. 11. When Verifiable Parental Consent is Not Required. - Verifiable

parental consent shall not be required under the following circumstances: (a) Online contact information collected from a child that is used only to respond directly on a one-time basis to a specific request from the child and is not used to recontact the child and is not maintained in retrievable form from the operator; (b) A request for the name or online contact information of a parent or child that is used for the sole purpose of obtaining parental consent or providing notice under this Section and where such information is not maintained in retrievable form by the operator if parental consent is not obtained after a reasonable time; (c) Online contact information collected from a child that is used only to respond more than once directly to a specific request from the child and is not used to

recontact the child beyond the scope of that request: (i) If, before any additional response after the initial response to the child, the operator uses reasonable efforts to provide a parent notice of the online contact information collected from the child, the purposes for which it is to be used, and an opportunity for the parent to request that the operator make no further use of the information and that it is not be maintained in retrievable form; or (i) without notice to the parent in such circumstance as the Department of Information and Communication and Technology (DICT) may determine are appropriate, taking into consideration the benefits to the child of access to information and services, and risks to the security and privacy of the child, in rules and regulations promulgated for the effective implementation of this Act. (d) The name of the child and online contact information, to the extent reasonably necessary to protect the safety of a child participant on the site, is: (i) Used only for the purpose of protecting such safety; (ii) not used to recontact the child or for any other purpose; and (iii) not disclosed on the site. If the operator uses reasonable efforts to provide a parent notice of the name and online contact information collected from the child, the purposes for which it is to be used, and an opportunity for the parent to request that the operator make no further use of the information and that it not be maintained in retrievable form; or (e) The collection, use or dissemination of such information by the operator of such website or online service is absolutely necessary: (i) to protect the security or integrity of its website; (ii) to take precaution against liability; (li)to respond to judicial process; or (iv) to provide information to law enforcement agencies or for an investigation on a matter related to public safety.

SEC. 12. Role of the Department of Information and Communications

Technology. - The DICT shall be the primary agency tasked with the protection of children using the internet and the implementation of this Act.

SEC. 13. Public Awareness Programs - The DICT shall, in consultation with

the Philippine Information Agency and other relevant agencies of government, private sector, and civil society organizations, develop, lead, undertake and coordinate a nationwide program to heighten public awareness and involvement in furtherance of the purposes of this Act. The program shall utilize existing resources and efforts of the national government, local governments, private organizations, and non-government organizations and shall include: (a) Identifying, promoting, and encouraging best practices for internet safety; (b) Establishing and carrying out a national outreach and internet safety education campaign regarding internet safety utilizing various media and internet-based resources; (c) Facilitating access to, and the exchange of, information regarding internet safety to promote up-to-date knowledge regarding internet safety; and (d) Facilitating access to internet safety education and public awareness efforts of the government, nonprofit organizations, and other appropriate entities.

SEC. 14. Digital Citizenship Literacy Program. - The promotion of digital

citizenship literacy program shall be inculcated in all levels of education nationwide. Consistent with Section 5 of Republic Act No. 10533, or the "Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013", the Department of Education (DepEd) shall ensure that the K to 12 curriculum shall be supported by programs on digital literacy. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) shall ensure the promotion of programs on digital citizenship literacy.

SEC. 15. Online Safety Coordinators. - There shall be appointed an Online

Safety Coordinator (OSC) in all primary and secondary schools. They shall ensure the protection of all students from potential harms that may occur through the internet and electronic media and serve as the main contact persons on all online-related issues. OSCs shall act as auditor of online safety measures, including the collection and recording of online safety incidents.

SEC. 16. Penalties. - Violations of this Act shall be penalized by

imprisonment ranging from one (1) year to three (3) years or a fine of not less than Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (PhP500,000.00) but not more than Two Million Pesos (PhP2,000,000.00) or both, at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 17. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to carry out the provisions

of this Act is hereby authorized to be appropriated in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment into law and thereafter.

SEC. 18. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is held invalid or

unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 19. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and

regulations, issuances, or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby 23 repealed or amended accordingly.

SEC. 20. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,