NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session
SENATE
S. No.
O9M
Introduced by Senator Robinhood Padilla
AN ACT
REGULATING CHILDREN'S USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOWARDS PROMOTING 
THEIR SAFETY, WELL-BEING, AND RESPONSIBLE DIGITAL USAGE
EXPLANATORY NOTE
It has been observed that children up to eight years of age spend an average 
of 15 minutes a day using mobile devices for entertainment purposes such as watch 
videos, play games, or even engage in social media.1 The Foundation for Media 
Alternatives reports that social media serves as the internet to the majority of Fiiipino 
online users, and that the Philippines has the highest penetration of social networking 
among internet users at 83% compared to the global average of 58%.2
The pervasive use of sociai media in the Philippines has greatly affected 
Filipinos' conception of desirable living conditions, socially accepted behavior, and 
even reality. Children, being in the developmental stages of their young lives, are 
highly impressionable and as such, require special protection from non-age 
appropriate, if not outright harmful or immoral, influences that they may encounter 
from their leisurely use of social media.
Despite the pervasiveness of social media, there is no specific law that regulates 
the same. Meanwhile, countries such as the United States of America and Australia
1 Kids and modern technology. (2017, May 2). PhHstar.com. https://www.philstar.com/the- 
freeman/cebu-lifestyle/2017/05^3/1690384/kids-and-modern-technology
2 Foundation for Media Alternatives. (2018, October 16). Social Media and Privacy: The Philippine 
Experience - Foundation for Media Alternatives, https://fma.ph/resources/resources-gender-ict/social- 
media-and-privacy-the-philippine-experience/#_ftn1


have passed laws that regulate children's use of social media, and ASEAN countries 
such as Indonesia and Malaysia have expressed plans to pass similar measures.
While remaining cognizant of the people's Constitutional rights to information 
and freedom of expression, this measure seeks to make social media platforms a safe 
learning and socialization forum for children by establishing regulatory requirements 
that social media platforms must abide by and providing penalties for non-compliance.
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
DBINm)OD C. PADILLA
Senator


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE
Third Regular Session
23 FEB
SENATE
2989
S. No.
Introduced by Senator Robinhood Padilla
AN ACT
REGULATING CHILDREN'S USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOWARDS PROMOTING 
THEIR SAFETY, WELL-BEING, AND RESPONSIBLE DIGITAL USAGE
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Children's Safety in
2 
Social Media Act."
3 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State recognizes the vital role of children
4 
and youth in nation building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral,
5 
spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being. As such, it is hereby declared the policy of
6 
the State to regulate children's use of social media, with utmost consideration for their
7 
fundamental right to age- and developmentally-appropriate information, privacy and
8 
confidentiality of personal information, and freedom of expression.
9 
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - The following terms as used in this Act shall be
10 
defined as follows:
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a. "Account holder" shall refer to a person who has an account or profile
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to use a social media platform;
13 
b. "Algorithms" shall refer to a defined set of rules or instructions, usually
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executed by a computer system to accomplish a specific task, or solve a
15 
particular problem;
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c. "Child" shall refer to a person who is below eighteen (18) years of age;
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d. "Content" shall refer to text, images, and videos, excluding materials
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specifically designed for interactive gaming or educational entertainment
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purposes;


1 
e. "Guardians" shall refer to legal guardians, and other persons, including
2 
relatives with physical custody of the child, and those exercising special
3 
or substitute parental authority over the child;
4 
f. "Parents" shall refer to biological parents, step-parents, adoptive parents
5 
and the common-law spouse or partner of the parent;
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g. "Personal data" shall refer to information that identifies or is linked or
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reasonably linkable to a particular child;
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h. "Personalized recommendation system" shall refer to fully or partially
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automated system used to suggest, promote, or rank information based
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on the personal data of users;
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i. "Social media platform" shall refer to any internet-based service,
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network, application, website, or computer program which is primarily
13 
intended for personal and group social interaction and information
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sharing of user-generated content that is used, or is reasonably likely to
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be used, by a child; and
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j. "Targeted advertising" shall refer to the act of displaying advertisement
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to an individual to predict the individual's preferences and interests.
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Sec. 4. Regulation. - Social media platforms (SMPs) Identified by the
19 
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to be accessible
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in the Philippines, and are used, or reasonably likely to be used, by a child shall be
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subjected to the following conditions:
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a. SMPs shall establish age verification protocols: Provided, that any
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personal data collected for this purpose shall be encrypted, securely
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stored, and used solely for the purposes of this Act, in fuli compliance
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with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act;
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b. Child account holders shall first be required to undergo parental consent
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verification: Provided, that the same consent shall be required from
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existing account holders at the time of the passage of this Act to be
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allowed continued access thereto;
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c. SMPs shall provide adequate and efficient notification and control
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mechanisms to enable parents, or in the absence of the latter, the
32 
guardian/s of a child, to perform acts such as, but not limited to:


1
i.
Supervise the child's account and allow the same to view the
2
account's privacy settings;
3
ii.
Set daily time restrictions lower than the time limit to be fixed
4
pursuant to subsection (e)(ii) of this Section, and implement
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breaks during which the child cannot access the account; and
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iii.
Revoke consent for a child to continue to be an account holder;
7
d. SMPs shall establish limitations and restrictions on the use of, and
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allowed interactions with the account of a child;
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e. SMPs shall employ algorithms that:
10
i.
Limit features that increase, sustain, or extend the use of the SMP
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by the child, such as automatic playing of media, rewards system
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for time spent on the platform, notifications, and other features
13
that result in compulsive usage of the SMP by the child;
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ii.
Track and limit the amount of time spent by the child on the SMP
15
through features such as natural stopping points, fixed usage
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time limit, among others;
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iii.
Control personalized recommendation systems and targeted
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advertising systems to ensure that recommendations or
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advertisements that may be accessed by a child are age- and
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developmentally-appropriate: Provided, that the child shall have
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the option to opt out of, or limit the types or categories of such
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recommendations and advertisements;
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iv.
Restrict the access to, and sharing of the geolocation of the child;
24
V.
Restrict the purchases and financial transactions by the child.
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where applicable; and
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vi.
Disable the redirection of links to external websites;
27
f.
SMPs shall develop a readily accessible and easy-to-use reporting
28
mechanism to address issues and concerns regarding a child's use of the
29
SMP.


1 
Sec. 5. Monitoring and Enforcement - It shall be the obligation of the DICT to:
2 
a. Ensure and protect the rights of children in matters relating to
3 
information communications technology (ICT) by adopting a monitoring
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and reporting mechanism to track violations of this Act;
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b. Notify the SMPs and provide details on violations identified in its
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monitoring efforts or complaints received from third persons with a
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request for take down or cancellation of account within thirty days upon
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receipt of notice: Provided, that it shall be the duty of the SMP concerned
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to notify the allegedly prohibited account owned by a child and provide
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an opportunity to challenge the same within a given span of time:
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Provided, further, that the SMP concerned shall submit a report to DICT
12 
on the steps it took to comply with the request for take down or
13 
cancellation of account; and
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c. Issue a disabling order in the event of failure or refusal on the part of
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the SMP to act upon the request for take down or cancellation of
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accounts registered by children.
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Sec. 6. Restricting Access or Biocking Access to Prohibited Accounts Beionging
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to Chiidren. - When a registered account or page on any social media platform is
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prima facie found to be in violation of the provisions of this Act, the DICT shall issue
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a disabling order to restrict or block access to such account or page and shall notify
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the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to monitor compliance thereto.
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Sec. 7. Duty of Service Providers. - Service providers shall comply with the
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disabling orders within forty-eight (48) hours of the issuance of the disabling order
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and must disable the pages bearing said accounts of children prohibited under this Act
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by implementing an effective technical measure to disable or prevent access thereto
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which may include:
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a. Blocking domain names that provide access to the prohibited
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pages/accounts (DNS blocking);
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b. Blocking URLs that provide access to the prohibited pages/accounts;
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c. Blocking of IP addresses that provide access to the pages/accounts; and
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d. Blocking other similar means.


1 
Sec. 8. Penalties. - SMPs that refuse to act upon requests to take down
2 
prohibited accounts of children shall be liable to pay a fine of One Hundred Thousand
3 
Pesos (P100,000.00) for each violation thereof.
4 
SMPs found non-compliant with Section 4 of this Act despite prior and proper
5 
notice shall, upon recommendation by the DICT, be banned temporarily until full
6 
compliance, or perpetually from operating in the Philippines.
7 
Sec. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The DICT, in consultation with
8 
the Department of Justice, Department of Health, Department of Education, other
9 
appropriate government agencies, and other stakeholders, shall issue the necessary
10 
rules and regulations to implement the provisions herein within ninety (90) days from
11 
the effectivity of this Act.
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Sec. 10. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or
13 
unconstitutional, the remaining provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid and
14 
subsisting.
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Sec. 11. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
16 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or
17 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended
18 
accordingly.
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Sec. 12. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
20 
publication in the Official Gazette or in any two (2) newspapers of general circulation
21 
in the Philippines.
Approved,