PH weighs social media ban for children as lawmakers target online extremism

The Philippines is considering tighter restrictions on children’s access to social media, placing greater responsibility on platforms to verify users’ ages and remove underage accounts amid growing concerns over harmful content, online grooming and extremist recruitment.

The proposals have emerged following a fatal school shooting in Tacloban City in June, which has intensified scrutiny of the role online platforms and communities may play in influencing young people.

A bill before the House of Representatives would prohibit children under 13 from using social media, while a separate Senate proposal would extend the restriction to those under 16.

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If enacted, the measures would require social media platforms to introduce age and identity verification systems and proactively deactivate accounts belonging to users below the permitted age.

Platforms that repeatedly fail to comply could face fines of up to 50 million pesos (US$820,000), with the most serious cases potentially resulting in a permanent ban from operating in the Philippines.

The proposals could have significant implications for social platforms and the brands that rely on them to reach younger audiences, particularly as marketers face growing scrutiny over age-appropriate targeting, content moderation and child safety.

Philippine education secretary Juan Edgardo Angara has previously pointed to harmful online influences as one possible factor behind youth violence.

“Experts say this is partly due to exposure of young people to damaging social media sites, negative influences, groomers, and terrorist groups online actively recruiting (children),” he said.

The issue gained urgency after two students, aged 14 and 15, allegedly opened fire at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City on 22 June, killing three students and injuring 20 others.

Cybersecurity advocates have subsequently raised concerns about the use of social media platforms and online gaming communities by extremist groups to identify and influence young people. One group under scrutiny is 764, which was reportedly found to have recruited one of the students involved in the Tacloban shooting.

Could a ban drive children elsewhere?

However, experts have warned that restricting access to mainstream social platforms could create new risks rather than eliminate them.

Children pushed off major platforms could migrate to smaller or less visible online communities, where harmful content and attempts at grooming or recruitment may be harder for parents, authorities and technology companies to detect.

Experts are instead calling for platforms to strengthen systems that detect, report and remove harmful content, alongside measures to identify users attempting to groom or recruit children.

The debate comes as the Philippines also expands protections for children participating in monetised digital content. New labour safeguards require children below 15 involved in covered paid digital work, including vlogs, livestreams and podcasts, to obtain a permit from the department of labour and employment, with limits placed on working hours and protections for their earnings.

Step into PR Asia Philippines 2026 on 9 September in Manila, where communications leaders will unpack the realities of trust, nationalism, misinformation, and polarisation shaping the country’s evolving narrative landscape.

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