A proposed ban on social media for Filipinos under 16 could cause more harm than benefit and may fail to keep minors offline, experts warn.
Emmanuel Caguimbal, president of Wayvent Innovations, says the infrastructure to bypass age restrictions has become mainstream among Filipino youth, noting widespread use of virtual private networks to access geo‑restricted games and streaming content.
Carlo Almendral, chief executive of AIFirst, observed that in the days preceding a similar law in Australia, VPN downloads nearly tripled, and three months after implementation about 70 % of under‑16 users still maintained social media accounts.
He cautioned that the Philippines could experience a greater impact because of a booming market for rented and sold identification documents used for verification.
Luis A. Jacinto, president of the Information Security Officers Group, described age‑based access restrictions as an impractical solution for preventing real‑world violence.
Although VPN costs may deter some users, the ban is unlikely to achieve its intended goals and may drive young people toward less regulated platforms, increasing their exposure to risk.
Proposals requiring government‑issued IDs for age verification would create a new dataset linking national IDs to social media accounts, significantly expanding the attack surface for cybercriminals.
Recent data leaks involving government agencies highlight the vulnerability of such information and raise national security concerns.
Without a clear assurance of robust protection, officials argue that linking identification documents to social media should not proceed.
