Bangkok.- The Philippines has begun debating restrictions on social media access for minors, following in the footsteps of some neighboring nations, as the government and lawmakers argue that these platforms expose children and adolescents to violent content, harassment, and radicalization processes on the internet.
The discussion gained momentum following the shooting that occurred on June 22 at a school in Tacloban, about 580 km southeast of Manila, where three students died and others were injured, an event that led to the proposal of several initiatives before Congress to establish a minimum age and force platforms to verify the age of their users.
One of them, introduced in the House of Representatives on June 29, proposes banning social media accounts for children under 15, while another initiative registered the following day proposes preventing independent access for those under 13 and establishing a tiered protection system for adolescents, depending on age and potential risk.
In the Senate, bills regarding a minimum age for using social media are also being processed, including the so-called Social Media Safety for Children Act, introduced in April and still pending review.
The Philippine Presidency recently pointed out that the proposals needed to be studied carefully because networks have both positive and negative effects on young people and because any regulation must balance child protection with other rights.
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The Philippine debate comes as other countries have already tightened their rules on minors’ access to social media.
Australia was one of the pioneers in establishing, as of December 2025, a minimum age of 16 years to maintain accounts on certain platforms.
The legislation requires companies to take reasonable steps to prevent minors under that age from having accounts and provides for fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (about 32 million dollars).
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At the end of March, Indonesia became the first country in Southeast Asia to restrict access for those under 16 to social media platforms considered high-risk. The measure initially affected platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox, and could reach approximately 70 million minors.
Since June, Malaysia has also implemented an age verification system to prevent those under 16 from opening accounts on major social networks, as part of its strategy to strengthen child safety on the Internet.
