Arangkada Philippines holds roundtable on proposed social media rules for children under 13
Arangkada Philippines, the advocacy project of the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC), held a policy roundtable on May 28, 2026 at the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) in Makati City to discuss proposed regulations on social media access for children under 13.
The closed-door meeting brought together lawmakers, academics, industry representatives, civil society groups, and youth participants to discuss child online safety, digital rights, and platform accountability.
The discussion comes as several bills in the Philippine Congress seek to regulate minors’ access to social media and digital platforms, including stricter age verification, parental consent requirements, and safeguards on online abuse, addiction, and mental health risks.
The initiative is part of its advocacy on competitiveness and digital governance as policymakers consider measures to strengthen protections for minors online.
“From the AmCham and Arangkada perspective, the wellbeing of children is not in question. We support measures that improve online safety, strengthen digital literacy, empower parents, and encourage responsible platform behavior,” said Steven Winkates, Arangkada Philippines Project Director.
“Regulation must be carefully designed. Unintended consequences can arise when well-intentioned policies are overly broad, difficult to implement, or misaligned with how digital platforms operate across borders,” he added.
Policymaker and expert perspectives
Lawmakers and policy experts said child protection goals must be balanced with implementation realities.
Rep. Bella Vanessa B. Suansing, Vice Chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, said restrictions alone may shift rather than resolve risks.
“If we focus only on restricting access without addressing underlying issues, the problem does not disappear. It can shift to other environments, including schools,” she said.
University of the Philippines President Atty. Angelo Jimenez said policy should align with research and international standards, and reflect children’s evolving capacities online.
“We believe that child protection and digital participation are not mutually exclusive goals. We can protect children while still recognizing their evolving capacities,” he said.
He proposed a graduated safeguards model instead of an outright ban for users aged 13 and below, including stronger privacy protections and design-based safeguards under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
He also called for limits on biometric age verification, including data minimization, immediate deletion after verification, and a ban on secondary data use, as well as safety-by-design defaults and youth participation in rulemaking.
Rep. Ann Matibag of Laguna’s 1st District, Trustee of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), said safety should be embedded in platform design rather than relying solely on restrictions.
“Safety should already be built into the platform itself, with stronger reporting systems, safer algorithms, protection against harmful interactions, and stronger accountability mechanisms,” she said.
The roundtable identified key issues including enforceability, privacy safeguards, and the effectiveness of age-based versus design-based approaches, noting the need for policies that reflect the country’s highly digital youth population.
A consolidated policy brief will be prepared summarizing key findings and recommendations. A report will be issued within two weeks, followed by legislative briefings and further consultations.
The Tipping Point of the Australian Ban
In December 2025, Australia became the first country to ban minors under 16 years old from holding accounts on major social media platforms. The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 sets a mandatory minimum age of 16 for holding an account on ten major social platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Threads, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, and Kick.
During the policy roundtable, Rep. Matibag shared a recent learning session organized by the PLCPD and the Child Rights Network (CRN), where participants highlighted important lessons from Australia’s early implementation experience.
While the law led to the removal of millions of age-restricted accounts, studies indicated that many children continued to access social media platforms, with some parents reportedly assisting them in bypassing restrictions.
These findings underscore the challenges of compliance and enforcement and suggest that legislative measures alone may not fully address the issue. Philippine policy framework should be evidence-based, practical, and accompanied by strong digital literacy, parental engagement, and platform accountability measures to ensure meaningful and sustainable protection for children online.
According to the new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, researchers studying the ban’s early effectiveness found nearly 75 percent of Australia’s 14- to 15-year-olds were not complying. oThe study found that most teenagers continued to believe their peers were still actively using social media, reinforcing the perception that remaining online remained socially necessary.
Survey results showed that teenagers would only be willing to stop using social media if roughly two-thirds of their peers also stopped, a threshold far higher than current compliance levels. The study further found that students who continued using social media were often viewed as more socially influential, making enforcement even more difficult.
These findings suggest that restrictions alone may be insufficient and that effective online child protection policies must be complemented by digital literacy initiatives, parental engagement, and broader efforts to influence social norms and online behavior.
About Arangkada Philippines
Arangkada Philippines is the advocacy project of the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC), a coalition of American, European, Japanese, Korean, and Canadian chambers of commerce, together with Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Incorporated (PAMURI). It promotes policy dialogue and reforms to strengthen competitiveness and the investment climate.
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Rep. Ann Matibag of Laguna’s 1st District, Trustee of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), emphasized that safety should be embedded in platform design rather than relying solely on restrictions.
Rep. Bella Vanessa B. Suansing, Vice Chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, said that restrictions alone may simply shift rather than resolve risks, underscoring the need for more comprehensive and systemic safeguards.
