A pair of Philippine lawmakers have separately filed legislation targeting the protection of children online, with both measures drawing from regulatory models already enacted in Australia, Spain, and France.
Under House Bill 8262, or the Social Media Protection for Minors Act, the responsibility for keeping underage users off platforms falls squarely on the companies themselves — not on parents or the children. Authored by CIBAC party-list Rep. Eddie Villanueva, the bill would require platforms to deploy age-assurance technologies, pull down accounts suspected of belonging to minors, and submit regular transparency reports on how they are complying.
A separate measure, House Bill 7300 or the Social Media Accountability Act, takes a broader approach to platform accountability. Its author, Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla, said the bill goes beyond the question of age restrictions.
“Filipino users have the right to know how their data is used and how algorithms influence the content they see every day,” Mercado-Revilla said.
HB 7300 would establish a Social Media Accountability Council under the Department of Information and Communications Technology to oversee the protection of underage users.
Mercado-Revilla pushed back against any characterization of the measure as a move to regulate expression. “This measure is not about policing opinions. It is about accountability, making sure that digital systems do not put profit ahead of people, and that users are informed, protected and empowered,” she said.
Both bills propose barring children aged 16 and below from accessing social media platforms.
