Gatchalian renews call to ban minors from social media

Following the killing of three students at a high school in Tacloban City, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian renewed his call to prohibit minors from using social media.

"We have a lot of youth deeply addicted to social media and violent video games. Many studies have shown that excessive social media use affects the mental health of minors. That is why cases of mental health problems among the youth remain high," Gatchalian said in Filipino during a radio interview Wednesday.

The Philippine National Police is looking into the possibility that one of the suspects in the shooting at San Jose National High School was heavily engaged in the online game GoreBox.

The PNP Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center has recommended a temporary ban on the game while authorities continue their investigation.

According to Google Play, GoreBox allows players to engage in combat using various weapons and explosives and features graphic depictions of violence and dismemberment.

Several lawmakers, including Gatchalian, have filed measures seeking to regulate or restrict minors' access to social media to address digital addiction, exposure to violent content and other online risks.

Among them is Senate Bill No. 2066, or the Social Media Safety for Children Act, authored by Gatchalian. The measure seeks to prohibit children 16 years old and below from registering, accessing or maintaining social media accounts. It also requires platforms to implement strict age-verification systems.

Meanwhile, Erwin Tulfo filed Senate Bill No. 595, which proposes banning children younger than 12 from accessing social media, except for supervised educational activities authorized by the Department of Education.

Loren Legarda also filed Senate Bill No. 1955, or the Children's Safety and Social Media Act, which seeks to restrict social media use and access to violent video games for children younger than 16.