Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

18" CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 3013

Introduced by REP. SALVADOR H. ESCUDERO IIT

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Internet, or sometimes called the “Information Superhighway", has become an
impressive but common tool providing easy access to all kinds of information and

communication. Its widespread usability and access cannot be overstated as it is now part of
every individual's daily social interaction and activities.

Nevertheless, such convenient, easy and unhampered access to all kinds of
information has its own downside. If the Internet already serves as a medium that caters,
pornography, violence and other immorality to minors, it is submitted that proper regulation
should be had. Hence, this proposed measure intends to regulate Internet access by Filipino
children.

‘This bill is principally anchored on the express State policy provisions of the
Constitution which mandates the promotion of the youth's social, physical, spiritual and
moral well-being and the protection of their interest and welfare against all forms of neglect,
exploitation and other similar prejudicial conditions. And in doing so, it proposes to prohibit
and restrict the access of harmful materials in the Internet by minors.

In view of the foregoing, early passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

lez LP
SALVADOR H. ESCUDERO IIL
Representative

1 District, Sorsogon


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon

15"" CONGRESS
First Regular Session

nouse pino,__8013

Introduced by REP. SALVADOR H. ESCUDERO HL

ACT

PROVIDING INTERNET SAFETY AND PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Republic of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SE

“HON 1. Title. ~ This Act shall be known as the “Child Safety and Protection
Act”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — I is hereby declared a policy of the State to promote

and protect the physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, psychological and social well-being of
children, Toward this end, it shall vigorously promote the safety and protection of children in

accessing the Internet agai

st harmful materials, such as, but not limited to, pomography, sex
and violence by adopting extensive public awareness programs and using appropriate and

effective filtering or firewall devices.

SE

|. Definition of Terms:

(a) "Children" refers to persons below eighteen (18) years of age;

(b) "Commercial establishments” refers to businesses offering Internet services for
profit such as Internet cafés or other establishments offering access to cyberspace
and the world-wide-web;

(c) "Harmful materials” means:

1) any communication, picture, image, graphic image, information, file, article,
recording, writing, or any other form of media that is obscene as defined by

law;


2) one that depicts, describes, or represents in any manner directly or indirectly
offensive to children, an actual and/or simulated 1) sexual act and / or

contact, especially sexual perversions such as pedophilia and bestiality; or 2)

a lewd exhibition of the genitals or female breast; or

3) if taken as a whole, the lack of serious literary, artist

. political, or scientific
value for children.

(d) “Internet” refers collectively to the myriad of computer and tclecommunications
facilities, including equipment and operating software, which comprise the
interconnected world-wide network of networks that employ the Transmission
Control Protocol! Internet Protocol, or any predecessor successor protocols to such
protocol, to communicate information of all kinds by wire, radio, or other electronic
media;

(e) “Internet Content” refers to all forms of information including text, pictures,
animation, video and sound recording, and may include software:

(f) “Internet filter” refers to a piece of software that filters by keyword or blocks by
Uniform Resource |ocator or commonly known as URL what a web browser will
display for the benefit of children:

(g) “Internet Service Provider” (ISP) refers to a company that provides individuals and
companies access to the Intemet and other related services:

(b) "Public Internet points” refers to those establishments offering Internet services such

as public of private schools, libraries, and similar establishments that provide

computer or Internet services to the public:

SEC. 4. Internet Safety for Children. - For purposes of this Act, Internet safety for
children includes access to Internet materials that shall not, in any way, be harmful to the

physical, moral, spiritual, psychological development, and social well-being of children.

SEC. 5. Restriction of Access by Children to Harmfidl Materials in the Internet. - All
commercial establishments or public Internet points offering Internet services shall be
required to offer filtered “clean feed Intemet service using end-user or PC based filtering
software to all Internet users below eighteen (18) years of age. ‘The State shall encourage and
make

ly accessible the use of similar filtering products for houscholds to enable parents

or guardians to block web pages that are considered unsuitable to children.


SEC. 6. Duties and Responsibilities of ISPs. - Internet Service Providers (ISPs) shall

have the following duties and responsibi

ies under this Act:

(a) take reasonable steps to ensure that Intemet access accounts are not

provided to children under 18 years old without parental consent;

(b) provide to its users one or more duly approved filter soflware products or

services by providing them with an Internet link which they can install or download

the software or by providing a Compact Dise which enables users to install the
software on their own computer or a ‘server based’ filter software service or a service
which filters Internet content before it is sent to the user's computer, No Internet
filtering software shall be used in all commercial establishments or public Internet

points other than those duly approved and prescribed by the CISC.

SEC. 7. The Child Internet Safety Council, - There is hereby created a Child Internet
Safety Council (CISC) under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
It shall be headed by an Undersecretary of the said agency as its Chair, and shall be
composed of duly designated representatives of the following departments or agencies as

members:

(a) Department of Education

(b) Department of Interior and Local Government

(©) Council for the Welfare of Children
(d) Commission on Information and Communities Technology
(e) National Youth Commission

(8) National Telecommunications Commission

(g) Philippine Information Agency; and

(h) Non government organization concerned with the welfare of children

SEC. 8. Initial Review and Report. - Within one (1) year After its creation and
organization, the CISC shall review and evaluate:

(a) the status of government poli

and industry efforts to promote Internet safety

through educational programs, parental participation and guidance, technology
application, blocking and filtering software, age-appropriate labels for content or
other regulatory and technological initiatives designed to promote a safe Internet

environment for children;


(b) the development of technologies to help parents, schools, commercial
establishments, and public Internet points shield children from inappropriate

material on the Internet.
Within the same period, it shall submit a report to Congress setting forth:

(a) its findings, including any information relating to the effectiveness of existing or
planned strategies, technologies, prevalence within industry of educational
campaigns, parental control technologies, blocking and filtering software,
labeling, or other technolo,

to assist parents and protect children’s interests;
and

(b) its recommendations as to what interventions, Intemet protocols, and incentives
could’ be developed and enforced for the effective implementation and

employment of such strategies and technologies.

SEC. 9. Duties and Functions of the CISC. ~The CISC shall have the following
duties and functions:

(a) Oversee and ensure the effective implementation of this Act;

(b) Advise the President on all matters relating to child Internet protection;

(©) Assist the concerned agencies in the review and redrafting of existing policies /
regulations or in the formulation of new ones in line with the objectives of this
Act;

(d) Determine Internet materials that are harmful to children;

(©) Determine and approve the appropriate Internet filtering software that will
effectively limit children’s access to unauthorized websites;

(f) Determine harmful websites to which children’s access shall be restricted;

(g) Conduct regular inspections of commercial establishments or public Internet

points offering Intemet services through its deputized representatives and with the

assistance of the agencies provided in the preceding section and to undertake

random inspections on their own initiative in order to monitor compliance with the

standards provided herein and to make necessary recommendations to appropriate
agencies:
(h) Deputize local government agencies or offices including law enforcement agents

to assist it in the discharge of its duties and functions under this Act;


(i) Develop and enforce mechanisms to ensure that parents, parent-school
associations and children are involved in research and policy development in
furtherance of this Act.

(i) Coordinate with other concerned agencies of the government and the private
sector towards the effective implementation of this Act;

(k) Perform such other functions as may be necessary to achieve the purposes of this
Act.

SEC. 10. Prohibited Acts. - The following acts shall constitute an offense punishable
under this Act:

(a) Offering unfiltered Internet set

2 10 children or allowing them access to
unauthorized websites as determined herein.

(b) Providing Internet services to subscribers without provisions for filtering software
in the bundled services,

(©) Allowing within the premises of a commercial establishment, the photography,
electronic depiction, whether in text or graphics, uploading, downloading,

copying, buming, or transmission of harmful materials as defined in this Act.

(d) Installing or maintaining enclosed or private cubicles, cells, private partitions or

enclosures for individual internet users. The presence of such prohibited
enclosures shall be prima facie evidence of unlawful services under this Act.

(c) Approving or granting a business permit to commercial establishments operating
in violation of this Act, without prejudice to the appropriate administrative
sanetions applicable to public officers and employees under the Civil Service

Law

SEC. 11. Public Awareness Programs. - The CISC shall develop, lead, undertake and
coordinate a nationwide sectoral program to advance 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, nonprofit organizations, private
technologies and Intemet service providers, World Wide Web-based resources, and other

appropriate entities, and shail 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 Intemet safety
to promote up-to-date knowledge regarding Intemet safety: and

(d) Facilitating access to Internet safety education and public awareness efforts of the

government, nonprofit organizations, and other appropriate entities.
SEC. (2. Penalties. - Violations of this Act shall be penalized as follows:

(a) A fine of Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php 50,000.00) for the first offense.

(b) A fine of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 100,000.00) for the second offense;

(©) Revocation of the business permits and licenses to operate and a fine of Two
Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 200,000.00) for the third offense.

SEC. 13. Filing of Administrative and Civil Cases. - \f the violation is committed by a
public Internet point, the CISC shall file the appropriate administrative and civil case/s

against the highest officer responsible for the management or operations of the same.

SEC. 14, Appropriations. - The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this
Act shall be charged against the current year’s appropriations of the Department of Social
Welfare and Development and other government agencies concerned, and thereafter included
in the General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 15. Separability Clause. - \f for any reason, a provision or any part hereof is

declared invalid, the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and

“effect.

SEC. 16. Repeating Clause. - All acts, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations
contrary oF inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified

accordingly.

SEC. 17. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its
publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved.