House Approves Bill Banning Social Media for Kids Under 13 and Restricting Algorithmic Feeds
The House of Representatives has approved and consolidated the Children’s Social Media and Online Gaming Safety Act, a measure aimed at strengthening protections for children and teenagers on social media and online gaming platforms.
The proposed law introduces stricter age restrictions, limits potentially harmful platform features, and imposes new responsibilities and penalties on technology companies operating in the Philippines.
Children under 13 will be prohibited from having social media accounts
Under the measure, social media platforms and other covered online services will be prohibited from allowing children below 13 years old to create or maintain accounts.
If a platform discovers that an account belongs to a child under the minimum age, it must immediately disable the account and take reasonable steps to prevent the child from simply creating another account using a different email address.
The responsibility for enforcing the age restriction will primarily fall on the platforms rather than parents.
Teen users will have stricter safety settings
Children aged 13 to 17 may still use social media, but platforms will be required to provide them with additional safeguards.
The measure prohibits features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay, and short-form video loops for minor users. These features are designed to encourage longer periods of engagement on platforms.
Teen users will also be protected from targeted advertising based on behavioral profiling, intrusive notifications, precise geolocation tracking, and direct messages from unknown adults.
These protections are intended to be activated by default rather than requiring minors to opt in.
The measure adopts a “Safety-by-Design” and “Safety-by-Default” approach, placing children's safety at the center of how online platforms are designed and operated.
Platforms must establish a Philippine presence
Social media platforms covered by the law will also be required to establish a physical presence in the Philippines.
Platforms accessible in the country will have 90 days to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and appoint a designated compliance officer who is a Philippine resident.
The requirement aims to prevent technology companies from using the absence of a local office as a way to avoid regulatory accountability.
Platforms could face hefty penalties
The measure also establishes the Office for Children’s Social Media and Digital Safety under the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
The office will serve as a technical regulator, with authority to audit platforms' internal systems, assess whether their age-assurance measures are effective, and issue notices of violation.
It may also order the immediate restriction or suspension of features deemed harmful or “predatory” to children, even before a full investigation is completed.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will handle financial penalties, with fines ranging from ₱2 million for a first violation to as much as ₱50 million for serious, gross, or systematic violations.
The measure targets gaming interactions, not gameplay
Despite its inclusion of “Online Gaming” in its title, the measure does not seek to regulate gaming in general.
Instead, its provisions focus on the social and interactive features surrounding online games, including chat functions, livestreaming, and content sharing.
The legislation therefore targets online interactions that could expose children to potential risks rather than the games themselves or their basic mechanics.