A House technical working group is reviewing proposals that would prohibit children below 13 from creating social media accounts and require parental consent for users aged 13 to 17.
The technical working group of the House Committee on the Welfare of Children, chaired by Pasig City Representative Roman Romulo, is working to reconcile several bills that propose different age limits and safeguards for young social media users. Some measures would restrict access only for children below 13, while others would apply restrictions to all users below 18.
Among the proposals under review is House Bill No. 9965, authored by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III and Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos. The bill would ban social media accounts for children below 13 and allow those aged 13 to 17 to use the platforms only with verifiable parental consent and continuing parental supervision. It would also direct the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), working with the Department of Education, to integrate a “Digital Literacy and Ethical Use of Social Media” module into the K-to-12 curriculum.
The proposed module would cover evaluating online information, understanding how algorithms shape the content users see, cyberbullying, online exploitation, harmful content, responsible digital citizenship, and healthy screen-time habits. HB 9965 would also direct the DICT to hold periodic training sessions for teachers and awareness seminars for parents and children below 18.
Speaking on the bill, Dy said age restrictions alone are not enough to keep children safe online. “Hindi po natin puwedeng i-asa sa pagbabawal lamang ang kaligtasan ng ating mga anak. If we teach our children how to read and write, in the Age of Social Media, we must also equip them with the knowledge to recognize lies and misinformation on the internet,” Dy said. He added that the greater risk to young users lies not just in what they encounter online, but in what algorithms repeatedly choose to show them, and that parents, teachers, and government must deliver a consistent message both at home and in school.
HB 9965 is one of several bills the House panel is currently reconciling. Senator Loren Legarda has filed a separate measure setting the minimum social media age at 16, while Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has raised concerns over the widespread use of social media among children below 13. A separate House measure has also proposed age verification and algorithm oversight requirements for social media platforms.
Beyond age restrictions and digital literacy education, HB 9965 proposes stronger obligations for social media platforms and greater parental involvement in children’s online activities. The technical working group has not announced a timeline for consolidating the pending bills.
