Senator revives call for social media ban for children 16 and under in Philippines

MANILA – Philippine senator Sherwin Gatchalian on March 30 renewed his call to ban social media for minors 16 years old and under, following Indonesia’s move to block children from high-risk platforms.

In a press release, Mr Gatchalian cited results from the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment.

This study found that every additional hour 15-year-old Filipino students spend on digital devices for leisure is linked to a four-point drop in mathematics scores.

“Let’s not wait for the problem to get worse before we take action,” he said.

Indonesia is the first country in South-east Asia to enforce a social media ban for children under 16 years old.

Under the new rules, children will be prohibited from creating accounts on platforms deemed “high-risk”, including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, X and Roblox.

Mr Gatchalian’s call also came after a Los Angeles jury found YouTube and Meta liable for contributing to childhood social media addiction.

On March 18, the senator also said he was studying the possibility of banning minors from social media following reports of an alleged plan by a group of teenagers to stage a school attack.

A June 2025 report by a non-government organisation, KidsRights, highlighted that the “unchecked expansion” of social media platforms is triggering an unprecedented mental health crisis among children and teens worldwide.

The report found that one in seven children and adolescents aged 10 to 19 experience mental health issues.

Globally, the suicide rate among those aged 15 to 19 stands at six per 100,000, it also revealed. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/ASIA NEWS NETWORK