The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said a bill imposing stricter regulation on social media platforms could pass the Senate within two months, a measure that would compel all platforms to comply once it becomes law.
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda made the statement in an ambush interview with reporters on Tuesday, saying that platforms would have no choice but to fall in line once the legislation takes effect. “In 2-months time, baka pumasa na sa Senado yung final social media bill na sabi naman ni Meta… walang pag-aatubili yun na magko-comply sila ‘pag lumabas na yung batas so no choice si Meta to comply with the law,” Aguda said.
A House panel approved a similar version of the measure on Monday.
The statement follows criticism from the Cybercrime Investigation and Security Council (CICC), which had earlier flagged the slow response of several social media platforms in taking down violent content linked to a recent school shooting in the Philippines.
DICT officials, along with CICC executives and representatives of other government agencies, recently met with Meta representatives in Singapore to discuss measures against child violence believed to be influenced by violent online games.
The bill under discussion consolidates several pending congressional measures into a single piece of legislation. Earlier DICT statements from June 2026 describe provisions that would set a minimum user age of 16 for social media, require platforms to maintain a local corporate presence, mandate the hiring of Filipino content moderators, and establish direct complaint and reporting channels between government agencies and platform operators.
Aguda had previously cited delays in content takedowns, including cases involving deepfakes and disinformation on YouTube, as a reason for pushing the legislation. He pointed to an earthquake in southern Philippines as an example where flagged disinformation remained online for an extended period before removal.
The DICT has cited Singapore and several European jurisdictions as reference points for the proposed framework. A comparable measure in Australia, which bars users under 16 from creating accounts on major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, took effect on December 10, 2025.
The DICT originally targeted passage of the legislation by the third quarter of 2026. Pending Senate action, the department said it will continue coordinating with social media platforms on existing content moderation concerns.
