PARAÑAQUE City Rep. Joy Myra Tambunting filed a measure requiring commercial establishments and public institutions to install filtering devices and firewalls to prevent children from accessing harmful materials.

House Bill 10486 or the proposed Online Child Safety Act mandates all commercial establishments to restrict access to materials harmful to children by offering filtered Internet service using end-user or PC-based filtering software or any such other filtering device.

The measure prohibits operating a website primarily for commercial purposes knowingly and with knowledge that it contains material that is harmful to children.

“Websites and pages for social networking, business and leisure are just a click away using a gadget. The use of gadgets for educational and sociocultural means of wisdom is accessible both to the young and adults,” Tambunting said in her explanatory note.

The lawmaker said that digital transformation has its advantages for trade and business and also poses harm for children who can become victims to predators or scammers.

“The importance of cybersecurity for commercial websites and public institutions is a way to protect the youth from cybercriminals or from sharing messages, personal information or photos that may threaten their safety,” she added.

The measure will establish the Online Child Safety Council under the Department of Social Welfare and Development.