Social Media Safety for Children Act
Filed on April 22, 2026, and referred to the Committees on Public Information and Mass Media and Science and Technology; it has been pending in committee since then with no recorded action.
The bill addresses the growing concern over children's safety on social media.
The bill responds to increasing concerns about children's safety online.
Social Media Safety for Children Act
The Social Media Safety for Children Act aims to establish a minimum age of 16 for social media use, regulate children's access to social media platforms, and set obligations for social media providers to protect minors online.
Compared with current law:
Children under 16 can use social media freely.
Children under 16 will be prohibited from using social media.
Social media platforms have no specific age-verification requirements.
Social media platforms must implement reliable age-verification mechanisms.
No penalties for non-compliance with age restrictions.
Social media providers face significant fines and operational penalties for non-compliance.
The bill establishes a minimum age of 16 years for children to register, access, or maintain accounts on any social media platform.
Source · full text✦ Dashed tags are AI-suggested nuance; solid tags follow the committee taxonomy.
Stalled: the bill has sat in committee for over five months with no action since its referral on May 5, 2026.
No floor deliberations yet — this measure has not reached plenary. Its committee-stage actions appear under Legislative history above.
Senate Office of the Secretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session APR 22 P2:38 SENATE RECEIVED BY. S.B. No. 2066 Introduced by SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN AN ACT ESTABLISHING A MINIMUM AGE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA USE, REGULATING CHILDREN'S ACCESS TO SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, PRESCRIBING OBLIGATIONS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA PROVIDERS, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR EXPLANATORY NOTE The 1987 Constitution provides that "[t]he 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. ' Likewise, the State shall 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.2 In 2024, Australia passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age Act 2024) which became effective in December 2025. This landmark law introduces a mandatory minimum age of 16 for accounts on 1 Article II, Sec. 13. 2 Article XV, Sec. 3 (2).
certain social media platforms?. In March, Indonesia began enforcing a social media ban for children under the age of 16, making it the first country in Southeast Asia to implement such a restriction. Other countries have likewise taken steps to prohibit minors from using social media through legislation, although with varying minimum age thresholds. In Denmark, France, Greece, and Slovenia, the proposed minimum age for social media restrictions is 15. Meanwhile, Germany, Malaysia, and Spain seek to set a minimum age of 16, similar to Australia. Data from the 2024 National Information and Communications Technology Household Survey (NICTHS), conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority in collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), show that 66 percent of children aged 10 to 16 used the internet within the three months preceding the survey. Among children aged 10 to 16 who are online, 69.7 percent access the internet daily or almost every day. Across the 10 to 16 age group as a whole, the average time spent online is 3.93 hours per day, approaching the 4.59-hour daily average recorded among individuals aged 17 and above. Moreover, 92.4 percent of internet-using children aged 10 to 16 already maintain a social media account, compared to 97.6 percent among users aged 17 and above. These figures demonstrate that although internet access among minors is not yet universal, connected children engage with the internet frequently and for sustained periods, and social media participation among minors is nearly as prevalent as it is among adults. 3 Which platforms are age-restricted?, https:/ /www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/industry- regulation/ social-media-age-restrictions/which-platforms-are-age-restricted, last accessed February 18, 2026. 4 Indonesia enforces social media ban for children under 16, https://globalnation.inguirer.net/315979/indonesia-enforces-social-media-ban-for- children-under-16, last accessed April 21, 2026.
While the country has laws which protect children from abuse and exploitation, including those committed through digital means, such as Republic Act No. 7610 or the "Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act", as amended, and Republic Act No. 11930 or the "Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act", these statutes are primarily penal and reactive in nature and do not establish a access to and comprehensive regulatory framework governing minors' exposure on social media platforms, thereby necessitating this measure to institute preventive safeguards and strengthen the protection of children's physical, mental, moral, and social well-being in the digital environment. In support of the need to regulate exposure to social media and safeguard children from online harms, the following measures are hereby proposed: 1. Prohibiting children below sixteen (16) years of age from registering, accessing, or maintaining accounts on any social media platform, and requiring social media platform providers to implement reliable age-verification mechanisms; 2. Requiring social media platform providers to adopt age and identity verification systems, conduct regular audits to deactivate accounts held by age-restricted users, prevent circumvention through duplicate or reactivated accounts, provide parental control and content-filtering tools, and establish reporting and response mechanisms for underage access; 3. Requiring social media platform providers to ensure that platform design does not promote compulsive or excessive use, including limiting autoplay features, addictive notifications, and algorithmic recommendations directed at age-restricted users; 4. Designating the DICT as the primary implementing agency with authority to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, issue Disabling Orders, and impose administrative sanctions and penalties;
5. Providing that, in case of failure or refusal to comply with a Disabling Order, the DICT shall notify the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which shall direct internet service providers to implement appropriate technical measures, including domain, URL, or IP blocking, and requiring the NTC to monitor compliance and submit periodic reports to the DICT; and 6. Imposing fines and suspension or revocation of operations for repeated or willful non-compliance, while ensuring strict compliance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012 in the collection and protection of personal information. With the end goal of proactively safeguarding children's physical, mental, moral, and social well-being in the digital environment through age- appropriate regulation of social media platforms, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. WIN GATCHALIAN
Senate Office of the Stretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session APR 22 P2:38 SENATE RECEIVED BY: S.B. No. 2066 Introduced by SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN AN ACT ESTABLISHING A MINIMUM AGE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA USE, REGULATING CHILDREN'S ACCESS TO SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, PRESCRIBING OBLIGATIONS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA PROVIDERS, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR 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 "Social Media
2 Safety for Children Act."
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to promote
5 and protect the physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being 6 of our youth. The State shall also provide special protection for children from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development. Towards this end, the State shall adopt preventive measures to regulate minors' exposure to social media, minimize distractions from mobile devices and electronic gadgets, and safeguard children from online harms in support of holistic development and safe learning environments.
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following
terms shall mean:
a. Age-Restricted User refers to a child who has not reached sixteen (16) years of age. b. Social Media Platform refers to any internet-based service, application, website, or computer program primarily intended to enable online social interaction among users and to allow content sharing thereon. c. Social Media Platform Provider refers to any entity that owns or operates a social media platform. d. Third-Party Age Verification Provider refers to any entity engaged by platforms to verify user age or identity.
Sec. 4. Age-restriction for Social Media Platforms. - Children below
sixteen (16) years of age shall be prohibited from registering, accessing, or maintaining accounts on any social media platform. Social media platform providers shall implement reliable age- verification mechanisms to enforce this restriction.
Sec. 5. Duties of Social Media Platform Providers. - Social media
platform providers shall: a. Adopt effective age and identity verification systems, including but not limited to ID authentication, face recognition, or comparable technologies; b. Conduct regular audits to detect and deactivate accounts held by age-restricted users; c. Prevent circumvention of age restrictions through duplicate or reactivated accounts; d. Provide functional parental control and content-filtering tools; e. Establish prompt reporting and response mechanisms for underage access; and f. Ensure that platform design does not promote compulsive or excessive use, including limiting autoplay features, addictive notifications, and algorithmic recommendations directed at age- restricted users.
Sec. 6. Role of the Department of Information and Communications
2 Technology. - The Department of Information and Communications 3 Technology (DICT) shall serve as the primary implementing agency of this Act. It shall: a. Monitor compliance of social media platform providers and third-party age verification providers with the minimum age restriction and other requirements under this Act; b. Establish accessible reporting mechanisms for violations; 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 to be in violation of the minimum age restriction; e. Impose administrative sanctions and penalties in accordance with this Act; and f. Coordinate with the Department of Social Welfare and Development of Education National (DSWD), Department (DepEd), Telecommunications Commission (NTC), National Privacy Commission (NPC), Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), relevant government agencies, and accredited non-government organizations to ensure consistent and child-sensitive implementation of this Act, including the conduct of awareness campaigns and community-based programs on responsible social media use and digital well-being.
Sec. 7. Disabling Orders and Network-Level Enforcement. - Upon
determination that a social media account is owned, operated, or used by an age-restricted user in violation of this Act, the DICT shall issue a Disabling Order directing the immediate removal or deactivation of such account. Social media platform providers shall comply with the Disabling Order within five (5) days from receipt thereof. In case of failure or refusal to comply, the DICT shall notify the NTC, 32 which shall direct internet service providers to implement appropriate 33 technical measures, including but not limited to domain, URL, or IP blocking,
1 solely for purposes of enforcing the Disabling Order. The NTC shall monitor compliance by internet service providers and 3 submit periodic reports to the DICT.
Sec. 8. Data Privacy. - All personal information collected pursuant to
6 this Act shall strictly comply with Republic Act No. 10173 or the "Data Privacy 7 Act of 2012". Data collected shall be limited, secured, and retained only for 8 lawful purposes under this Act and protected through reasonable safeguards.
Sec. 9. Penalties. - Any social media platform provider or third-party
age verification provider that fails to comply with this Act shall be subject to the following administrative penalties: a. A fine of not less than One Million Pesos (Php1,000,000) but not exceeding Ten Million Pesos (Php10,000,000) per violation; b. A daily fine of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 100,000) for each day of continuing violation after due notice; and c. Suspension or revocation of operations within the Philippines for repeated or willful non-compliance. These penalties shall be without prejudice to prosecution under existing administrative, civil, or criminal laws.
Sec. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The DICT, in
coordination with DSWD, DepEd, NTC, NPC, CWC, relevant government agencies, and other private stakeholders, shall promulgate the rules and regulations within ninety (90) days after the effectivity of this Act.
Sec. 11. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part of this Act is
declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions or parts not affected shall remain in full force and effect.
Sec. 12. Repealing Clause. - All other laws, executive orders,
presidential decrees, administrative orders, rules and regulations, issuances, 33 or parts thereof inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act are
1 hereby repealed or amended accordingly.
Sec. 13. Effectivity. - Notwithstanding the non-issuance of the IRR, this
4 Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official 5 Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,
Reproduced from the Senate document. The official PDF is the authoritative version.