Senate OKs bill banning those below 18 years old from social media

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Senator Risa Hontiveros offers the only ‘no’ vote, suggesting tiered access by age instead

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate on Thursday, October 8, passed Senate Bill No. 2424 or the Safe Media Access and Responsible Technology for Kids in Digital Spaces (SMART KIDS) Act that seeks to restrict anyone under 18 years old from accessing social media or other “high-risk digital services.”

The bill, sponsored by Senator Robin Padilla, compels the suspension, restriction, disabling or removal of any account that has been reasonably determined as being owned or used by a minor. It will also prevent minors from creating accounts, with platforms required to have effective age-assurance measures. 

The approved version of the bill increased the scope of the restrictions to cover those under 18 years old, up from the original version’s proposed 16-year-old threshold. 

The Senate’s debate over social media regulation for the youth vacillated between an outright ban versus a tiered “age-appropriate” framework, which would offer different levels of restrictions by age. The former appeared to have won that debate, with the country facing a spate of deadly school shootings and other violent incidents, attributed partly to certain influences within online environments or effects of social media use to young users. 

Of the 17 senators who voted, Risa Hontiveros was the lone dissenting vote. 

Hontiveros explained her vote in a Facebook post, citing some examples about how young Filipinos can use social media platforms to voice out abuses, to connect with family living abroad, or to do a side hustle. 

She said: “Social media has become a space where young people build and maintain their connections with their friends, communities, families, and loved ones. An outright ban strips away these very connections that have become so important in their day-to-day lives.”

She said that a complete ban for all individuals under 18 years old fails to take into consideration that, for example, a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old have different levels of development. A tiered implementation for social media access may be more apt, Hontiveros argued.

“For younger adolescents, we should require stronger default privacy and data settings, tighter restrictions on adult contact, limits on targeted advertising and profiling, and stronger parental and educational safeguards. As adolescents mature, maaari natin silang unti-unting bigyan ng awtonomiya habang nananatili ang mga proteksyon laban sa abuso at eksploytasyon, at harmful content,” she said. (As adolescents mature, we can slowly give them autonomy while protections remain from abuse, exploitation and harmful content.)

Senator Hontiveros authored the SAGIP BATA Act, which criminalizes the “sadistic extortion” of children or the use of threats, manipulation, blackmail, deception and similar means to compel children into grave, cruel, degrading or harmful acts. It has also been approved by the Senate.

Senator Joel Villanueva welcomed the bill’s passing:

“Bilang mga magulang, ginagawa natin ang lahat upang maging ligtas ang ating mga anak sa bahay at sa paaralan. Dapat umabot ang proteksiyong iyon hanggang sa kanilang mga screen, kung saan nang dahil sa isang click maaari silang malantad sa pambubully, karahasan, at pagsasamantala.”

(As parents, we do everything we can to keep our children safe at home and in school. That protection should extend to their screens, where a single click can expose them to bullying, violence, and exploitation.)

The SMART KIDS Act will now be transmitted to the House for its own review.  – Rappler.com