TARLAC 2nd District Rep. Victor Yap filed a measure prohibiting social media companies from using practices that harm mental health and to apply necessary measures to limit social media addiction.

In pushing for House Bill 6776 or the proposed Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology Act or Smart Act, Yap wants to require social media companies to take measures to mitigate the risks of addiction.

“Everyday, we almost take no notice that most social media platforms have features encouraging us to excessively use their apps, unknowingly leading us to social media addiction,” he said in his explanatory note.

The lawmaker clarified that his bill recognizes the role of social media in this digital age but noted that too much of anything is not good.

The bill seeks to formulate programs and measures to protect citizens from many internet companies, especially social media companies, whose business aims to capture as much as their users’ attention as possible.

The measure authorizes the Department of Health, in coordination with the Department of Education and Department of Information and Communications Technology, to head a research program on the effects of technology and social media on individuals.

House Bill 6776 also mandates the DepEd, Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to include in the appropriate subject of the curriculum lessons on social media ethics and appropriate behavior in social media, which include the effects of social media addiction that is detrimental to psychological well-being.