Philippine Senate backs SMART KIDS Act proposing social media account restrictions for under-18s

The Philippine Senate has approved legislation that would restrict people under 18 from creating or maintaining accounts on certain digital services, including social networking platforms. Senate Bill No. 2424, known as the Safe Media Access and Responsible Technology for Kids in Digital Spaces (SMART KIDS) Act, passed its third and final reading on 8 October 2026, with 16 votes in favour, one against and no abstentions. Senator Robin Padilla sponsored the bill.

Under the proposal, services classified as high-risk would have to prevent minors from registering for or using covered accounts. Platforms would also be required to suspend, restrict, disable or remove accounts identified as being operated by under-18s.

The restrictions would not apply to every online service. The bill excludes certain services, including email, private messaging, educational and news platforms, as well as online games that are not primarily used for social networking.

Covered platforms would also face age-assurance and compliance obligations, including requirements affecting foreign providers operating in the Philippines. Reported penalties for violations range from PHP 5 million to PHP 20 million, with additional penalties for continued non-compliance.

The proposal has drawn opposition over whether a blanket age threshold adequately accounts for differences in children’s development and needs. Senator Risa Hontiveros, the only senator to vote against the bill, argued that reaching the age of 18 is a legal threshold for adulthood rather than a uniform measure of every child’s capacity to use digital services.

Hontiveros called for a tiered approach instead of an outright restriction. Her proposed alternatives include stronger privacy defaults, tighter limits on contact between adults and children, restrictions on targeted advertising and profiling, and greater parental and educational protections.

The Senate’s approval does not make the bill law. The House of Representatives approved its own child online safety measure, House Bill No. 11566, on second reading on 6 October. That version would prohibit social media accounts for children under 13, while allowing those aged 13–17 to access platforms with parental consent and additional safeguards.

The two chambers must reconcile their different approaches before a final version can be sent to the President for approval. The outcome will determine whether the Philippines adopts a broad restriction on under-18s’ access to high-risk digital services or a framework that permits older teenagers to use social media under specified conditions.