Bill听seeks听to require public establishments to听control听kid鈥檚听access to听鈥榟armful鈥櫶齧aterials听online听
A BILL was filed at the House of Representatives听seeking听to require all public establishments to limit children鈥檚 access to the internet to protect them from any harmful materials.听
Para帽aque City Rep. Joy Myra R. Salvador-Tambunting filed House Bill 10486 or the proposed Online Child Safety Act that seeks to restrict access to sexual or dangerous content in public areas through filtering software.听听
鈥淭he importance of cybersecurity for commercial websites and public institutions is a way to protect the youth from cybercriminals or from sharing messages, personal information, or photos that may threaten their security,鈥澨齭he said in the bill鈥檚 explanatory note.听听
Ms. Tambuting added that听without controls in place,听children could be left vulnerable听to听online predators and scammers through chat boxes that could听lead听them to links or attachments with malware or adult materials.听听
The bill would create an Online Child Safety Council that would be chaired by the secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, with representatives from other relevant government agencies.听听
The council would be mandated to review the implementation of the proposed law, determine appropriate internet filtering software, and conduct regular on-site inspections, among others.听听
It听will also听prohibit the commercial operation of websites with materials听harmful听to children except if there is a content description tag assigned by the Department of Information and Communication Technology in its source code, an age verification requirement, or if the home page does not include such听materials.听鈥斕齊ussell Louis C. Ku听
