MANILA, Philippines — Social media platforms could face millions of pesos in penalties—and potentially jail time for responsible officials—under a proposed measure being finalized by Senator Erwin Tulfo, following renewed outrage over the circulation of graphic and violent material involving children and victims of recent school shootings.
Tulfo said he is working on legislation that would impose escalating penalties on social media companies that repeatedly fail to enforce their own community standards against prohibited graphic content.
For a first and second offense, Tulfo said the proposed penalties should reach the millions of pesos, arguing that smaller fines would have little impact on major technology companies.
“First offense, ilang milyong penalty,” Tulfo said in an interview with GMA News. He added that if violations continue after repeated offenses, company officials could potentially face personal accountability, including imprisonment, depending on what lawmakers ultimately provide in the proposed legislation.
Why Tulfo is pushing for tougher rules
The proposal comes after disturbing photos and videos connected to recent school shootings in Zamboanga City and Tacloban City circulated across social media.
During a Senate privilege speech on August 25, Tulfo criticized platforms for allowing sensitive material involving children, victims and alleged perpetrators to spread online.
“Ang krimen po ay hindi pang-entertainment. Ang paghihirap ng biktima ay hindi po content,” Tulfo said, stressing that the faces of child victims or suspects should not be turned into viral material.
Tulfo questioned whether major platforms—including Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram—are actually enforcing the community standards they publicly promise to implement.
He argued that social media companies should not be able to profit from advertising and user engagement while the public bears the consequences when harmful material is allowed to spread.
Not a proposed social media ban
Tulfo emphasized that the proposal is not intended to suppress freedom of expression or legitimate journalism.
Instead, the focus would be on graphic material that violates the dignity, privacy and safety of victims, particularly children and their families. The senator also said lawmakers still need to determine which government agency would have jurisdiction to investigate and impose penalties on social media platforms.
The Philippine News Agency reported that other senators have expressed support for stronger safeguards, with concerns also raised over algorithms, monetization and the difficulty of holding foreign-based platforms accountable under Philippine jurisdiction.
Other lawmakers are also targeting platform accountability
Tulfo’s proposal comes as Congress considers other measures aimed at making social media companies more accountable for online safety.
A separate House proposal, House Bill No. 9965 or the Children’s Social Media Safety Act, seeks to prohibit children below 13 from using social media and would impose penalties of up to ₱50 million on platforms that fail to meet specified child-safety requirements. Repeated serious violations could also lead to restrictions on a platform’s operation in the Philippines, subject to due process.
Meanwhile, the House has also advanced legislation strengthening protections against online child sexual abuse and exploitation, including safeguards addressing AI-generated and digitally manipulated material involving children.
The proposal is not yet law
Despite the calls for tougher punishment, there is currently no new law imposing Tulfo’s proposed millions-of-pesos fines or jail terms on social media executives for these violations.
Tulfo’s measure remains under development, and lawmakers still have to determine its exact penalties, enforcement mechanism, jurisdiction and other legal provisions before it could become law.
The Senate discussion has nevertheless intensified a larger debate in the Philippines: how far should social media platforms be held legally responsible when graphic or harmful content repeatedly slips through their moderation systems?
And as lawmakers push for stronger accountability, the question now looming over the social media industry is whether platforms will be required to do more than simply publish community standards—and actually face consequences when those rules repeatedly fail.
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