Majority of Filipino Minors Under 13 Use Social Media Despite Age Rules

A significant number of minors in the Philippines are using social media platforms despite Facebook's minimum age requirement of 13 years old. Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian cited data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showing that 87.64% of 12-year-old Filipino internet users have social media accounts, while 80.76% of 11-year-olds and 72.86% of 10-year-olds also have accounts. Among 13-year-old internet users, 93.72% have social media accounts. The data indicates widespread underage access, likely through falsification of ages to bypass Facebook's rules. This raises concerns about child safety and regulatory enforcement in the Philippines.

Global Impact

This story highlights a systemic issue of underage social media use in a major Southeast Asian market, with implications for child safety and digital regulation. Economically, it may prompt Meta to invest in better age verification technology or face penalties, but the scale is contained to the Philippines.