Can minors still use social media? Senate bill moves forward

By Jordan Kurt Domingo

Bicolanos below 18 years old may face new restrictions on using social media if a proposed law approved by the Senate becomes effective.

The Senate approved on second reading on Wednesday Senate Bill No. 2424, or the Child Online Safety and Protection Act, which seeks to prevent people below 18 from accessing or creating accounts on social media platforms covered by the measure.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Robinhood Padilla, aims to protect children from physical, mental and social harms that may arise from their use of social media.

So, what could this mean for teenagers who regularly use social media?

Under SB 2424, social media platforms covered by the bill would be required to make sure that users below 18 cannot access their services or create accounts.

The platforms would also have to establish systems to verify the age of their users and provide parental safety tools.

This means that if the measure becomes law, simply entering a birthdate when creating a social media account may no longer be enough. Platforms would have to use an age-verification system to determine whether a user is old enough to access the service.

The bill would apply even to social media platforms operating outside the Philippines. These platforms would be required to comply with Philippine regulations, designate a representative in the country and coordinate with local authorities.

But not everything young people do online would be covered.

SB 2424 excludes email services, private messaging platforms, online games that are not primarily intended for social networking, educational platforms, news services and professional collaboration tools.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) would oversee implementation if the bill becomes law.

Among its responsibilities would be monitoring compliance, investigating violations, establishing reporting mechanisms and updating age-verification standards.

Social media platforms that violate the requirements could face fines of P5 million to P20 million for each violation, plus P100,000 for every day they continue to fail to comply.

The Senate measure is different from the version being considered in the House of Representatives.

The House version proposes a complete social media ban for children below 13, while imposing restrictions on those aged 13 to below 18.

For now, however, nothing has changed yet for Bicolano teenagers.

SB 2424 still has to go through the remaining legislative process before it can become law.

The proposed restrictions have put the spotlight on a question that directly affects young Filipinos: How much protection should children have online, and how much freedom should they retain to use social media?