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Elementary school students head home after class in Quezon City, metropolitan Manila, the Philippines, on the 12th (local time). The Philippine House of Representatives passed a bill on that day banning children under 13 from accessing social media. / Reuters, Yonhap News

Legislation restricting social media for minors has moved forward in the Philippines as the House of Representatives passed a bill prohibiting children under 13 from accessing social media platforms.

According to Reuters on the 13th (local time), the Philippine House of Representatives approved the bill restricting minors' access to social media platforms by an overwhelming majority the previous day, following the Senate's recent approval of a similar measure.

The two bills differ in their age thresholds. While the House version bars children under 13 from accessing platforms, the Senate bill imposes stricter restrictions by prohibiting anyone under 18 from opening a social media account. Both chambers must reconcile the two bills into a unified version before sending it to the president for final approval.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who holds final approval authority, pointed out the potential downsides of blanket prohibitions. President Marcos noted on the 11th that he has been reviewing the bill passed by the Senate, cautioning that outright bans could drive children to conceal their online activities, leaving them more vulnerable to grooming and exploitation.

The legislative push comes as controversy over children's access to social media and online content resurfaced following three consecutive school shooting incidents in the Philippines since June. Last month, a 16-year-old student fatally shot at least two classmates before dying by suicide. In August, another student fatally shot a classmate while livestreaming the attack, subsequently taking their own life. On-campus firearm violence had previously been rare in the Philippines.

Restricting minors from social media is not unique to the Philippines. Heightened concern over the impact of social platforms on children's health and safety has prompted nations ranging from Greece and Portugal to Australia, Malaysia, and Indonesia to curb social media use among youth. Neighboring Malaysia began barring minors under 16 from registering for social media accounts in June. Platforms must verify users' ages against government-issued records, with the Malaysian government setting a compliance deadline of January next year.

Indonesia introduced regulations in March requiring platforms deemed high-risk to deactivate accounts held by children under 16. Services targeted so far include X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and the gaming platform Roblox. As of last week, TikTok had deactivated roughly 9 million accounts held by users under 16 in Indonesia, while Meta had suspended 85,000 Instagram accounts and 99,000 Facebook accounts.

                                                                                                              Jeong Ri-na