SENATOR Robinhood Padilla has filed a measure seeking to regulate children’s use of social media to promote their safety, well-being, and responsible digital behavior.

In Senate Bill 2989, or the proposed Children’s Safety in Social Media Act, Padilla noted that children up to eight years old spend an average of 15 minutes a day on mobile devices for entertainment such as watching videos, playing games, or even accessing social media.

He cited a report from the Foundation for Media Alternatives stating that social media effectively serves as the internet for most Filipino online users. The Philippines also reportedly has the highest social networking penetration rate globally—83 percent compared to the 58 percent global average.

“The pervasive use of social media in the Philippines has greatly affected Filipinos’ conception of desirable living conditions, socially accepted behavior, and even reality,” Padilla said in the bill’s explanatory note.

He stressed that children, being in a critical stage of development, are highly impressionable and require protection from age-inappropriate or harmful content they might encounter online.

Under the bill, social media platforms accessible in the Philippines—as identified by the Department of Information and Communications Technology—must implement verification protocols.

Children’s accounts would require verified parental consent, and restrictions would be placed on how such accounts are used and who can interact with them.