SENATE President Sherwin Gatchalian said the Senate’s approval of a proposed measure restricting minors’ access to social media and other high-risk digital services will help strengthen child protection amid growing concerns over online safety and content that may encourage violent behavior among young people.

Under the proposed Safe Media Access and Responsible Technology for Kids in Digital Spaces (SMART KIDS) Act, children below 18 years old would be prohibited from registering, creating, accessing, using or maintaining an account on any high-risk digital service that includes social networking functions.

“Napapanahon nang sundan natin ang halimbawa ng maraming bansa upang protektahan ang ating mga kabataan mula sa panganib na dulot ng social media at iba pang mga online platforms,”  said Gatchalian following the Senate’s approval of the measure on 3rd and final reading.

The bill provides that the prohibition is absolute, meaning parental or guardian consent, authorization, or supervision cannot override the restriction.

The measure also requires high-risk digital services to implement robust age-verification systems and immediately remove, suspend, or disable existing accounts held by minors.

However, legitimate educational platforms and other specified low-risk services are exempt from the restriction.