House leaders have filed a bill that would require social media platforms to adopt stricter child safety measures, including age verification, parental controls and multimillion-peso penalties for violations.

House Bill 9665, or the proposed “Children’s Social Media Safety Act,” was filed by House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy and House Majority Leader Alexander “Sandro” Marcos to establish safeguards governing children’s access to online platforms.

The measure would prohibit children younger than 13 from creating or using social media accounts and would require platforms to verify users’ ages and the accuracy of information submitted during registration.

It would also require platforms to provide parental consent and monitoring tools, allowing parents to oversee their children’s online activity and withdraw consent at any time.

Companies that fail to comply with the proposed requirements could face fines ranging from P5 million to P50 million. Platforms found to have committed repeated or serious violations could also face temporary or permanent suspension of operations in the Philippines, subject to existing laws.

Dy said social media has become a major part of children’s daily lives, making stronger safeguards necessary.

“We are seeing that social media has become a huge part of daily life. That’s why we have a big responsibility to ensure the safety of our children while they use it,” he said.

He said the bill is intended to strengthen parental guidance rather than completely bar children from using social media.

“It is our responsibility to ensure that technology is for the good of children, not a cause for danger to their growth,” Dy said.

He added that protecting children online should not rest solely on parents, saying government also has a duty to ensure social media companies provide a safer digital environment for minors.