The Philippines has plans to ban social media for minors, with multiple proposals with ages varying from 16 to 18. While it may be rooted in good intentions for people to protect the mental health of children, it actually does not make the Internet safer for minor users. As an American who cares a lot about privacy, and has seen other countries pass social media bans such as Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia, I am highly concerned about this new law and the potential effects it will actually bring to young and old Filipinos alike.

First of all, it is likely that everyone (not just children, even older adults too) will be forced to dox themselves via ID or face to use major social media sites, potentially including Facebook, YouTube, Roblox, Twitch, Discord, Threads, etc. I do agree teens should not be on some platforms like TikTok (which I dislike and would want to see a shutdown of it) and stuff that I personally dislike, but other platforms should be fine. The requirement of a digital ID system will take away the freedom and privacy of people online. Not to mention, the high risk of a data breach that could lead to thousands (or even millions) of people's personal information being exposed publicly online for hackers, doxxers, and predators to see. The thing, if that happens, who's responsible for that? Governments, or companies?

Second reason is that it shifts parental responsibility to governments and companies that often don't know how to actually keep children safe online. Parents are supposed to monitor and set rules for their children surrounding Internet usage, and they have literally been recommended that since the early days of the Internet, even since the 1990s. I understand that there may be a lot of careless parents who fail to keep their kids safe online, but it is still their responsibility and we need to hope that parents actually keep their kids safe online. This also begs the question: Why do people want these laws, if parents themselves can just limit their kid's Internet usage by using parental controls and their own rules?

Third reason, it is likely to be ineffective since ID checks are hard to actually do effectively. The UK's Online Safety Act, for instance, tries to require ID to stop kids from seeing NSFW content online, yet there have been many cases of kids bypassing the checks by using video game characters or fake IDs. It shows broken promises: These laws are meant to keep kids from seeing offensive content online, but yet they have done anything but that. This shows how governments can lie to people at times and they lose their trust. It is also rumored it may be happening in similar countries with passed laws, such as Australia for instance.

Final reason, the Internet has the potential to be positive for children as long as parents monitor it correctly and give them the proper rules in place. It can be full of educational content, connect with friends, share funny jokes and memes with friends, and expand their popularity. We all agree that children should absolutely not have unrestricted internet access as they could be exposed to bullies and predators, but it needs to be the parents to report these people to online authorities. Banning them will not only just cause isolation but will also theoretically expose them to more predators as if a data breach happens, predators will try to gr**m them, even if they aren't online and will only lead to more CSAM cases.

It is true that if not used right, electronics and Internet can have a impact on a child's mental health, but we should be protecting minors in it, not from it.

Instead of a total ban, we should explore alternative, privacy-preserving solutions that don't use government control as the catalyst. These include parental consent and guidance for anyone under 16, educational classes about Internet safety, promoting digital literacy for parents, recommending that companies introduce stricter safety features for minor users, and we should not let governments and companies be fully responsible for children, but we should let their parents regulate it. Child safety is their responsibility, not ours. These solutions can actually keep young people safe online but at the same time, isn't too extreme and doesn't infringe on their privacy. Other countries have not proposed social media bans but rather laws that actually keep people safe online, like parental consent options for instance.

We should not follow the footsteps of other countries such as Australia, the UK, and others. We should provide a potential footstep for neighboring countries with solutions that are not about digital ID, but actually keeping people safe online. We all care about protecting children and their mental health, but a digital ID social media ban should NOT be the proposal in the Philippines. I demand the Philippine government block the social media laws and propose real solutions that really can keep younger people safe online. Sign this petition if you do care, and if you want privacy-preserving approaches to online safety. Tell our lawmakers to not let these bans pass and encourage other solutions. Thank you