SENATOR Joel Villanueva is seeking to regulate youth access to online platforms through a firm but balanced approach, shifting responsibility from users to the companies that run digital services.
Filing Senate Bill No. 2071 or the proposed Safe Media Access and Responsible Technology for Kids in Digital Spaces (SMART KIDS) Act, Villanueva said the measure aims to establish a clear and enforceable framework that prioritizes the safety and well-being of children below 15 years of age (Age-restricted users).
“As a parent, we want to make sure that the welfare and safety of our children remain a top priority, and this includes what they are exposed to on online media platforms,” Villanueva said.
“Rather than penalizing young users, their parents or legal guardians, the measure ensures that those who design, operate, and profit from digital platforms are held accountable for maintaining a safe environment,” he added.
He added that the bill is anchored on “a simple but vital principle: those who shape the digital environment must also be responsible for making it safe.”
The measure tasks the online media platform operators to enforce prohibition on the creation of accounts by age-restricted users; establish a system to detect, verify, suspend, deactivate, or remove the prohibited accounts; and, periodically update mechanisms against circumvention of the law.
Platform operators are also required to establish and implement age assurance mechanisms, content moderation, safety-by-design features, and continuous risk management processes.
For example, platforms must have parental or guardian controls, content filtering systems, interaction restrictions, and reasonable usage or time management tools.
They must also have a system to identify, limit, or disable addictive or engagement-driven features, and algorithmic amplification that promotes prolonged or compulsive use.
The bill also mandates transparency obligations and strengthens protections on personal data, ensuring that compliance does not come at the expense of privacy or fundamental rights.
Villanueva’s bill imposes liability and penalties on platform operators who fail to comply with their obligations. These include monetary penalties from P1 million to P20 million.
The Senator said it’s high time to place responsibility on the platform operators who design, manage and profit from digital services, rather than on the minors who use them.
“Tinitiyak po ng panukalang ito na ang magkaroon din ng pananagutan ang operator ng platform na nagdidisenyo, nagpapatakbo, at kumikita sa mga digital na serbisyo, sa halip na sa mga menor de edad na gumagamit nito,” Villanueva said.
