PASIG City Rep. Roman Romulo maintained that regulating children’s access to social media is a more practical approach than imposing an outright ban on users below 16 years old, emphasizing that parents should play a key role in guiding and supervising their children’s online activities.

Romulo, who chairs the House technical working group studying proposed measures on youth social media use, said effective regulation combined with parental involvement would better protect young users while allowing them to benefit from the educational and developmental opportunities provided by digital platforms.

His position gained support from Globe Telecom, which said a balanced approach is needed to promote child online safety.

Globe stressed that protecting children in the digital space requires shared responsibility among parents, schools, government agencies, technology companies, and online platforms, rather than relying solely on a blanket ban on social media access.

“Keeping children safe online is a shared responsibility,” Globe General Counsel Atty. Froilan Castelo said, underscoring the need for stronger platform safeguards, responsible digital citizenship, parental guidance, and continued cooperation among stakeholders.

The telecommunications firm noted that many social media platforms have already adopted youth protection measures, including minimum age requirements, parental supervision tools, content moderation systems, and reporting mechanisms.

Globe urged technology companies to further enhance safety-by-design features while ensuring that children can continue to use digital platforms for learning, creativity, and communication.

The company also highlighted the importance of digital literacy, saying parents, educators, and communities must help young people develop healthy online habits and responsible use of technology.

Romulo said a comprehensive regulatory framework, rather than an outright prohibition, would provide a more sustainable solution in balancing child protection and the benefits of digital connectivity.