Sen. Robin Padilla said the cooperation of the state and the management of social media networks will be the key to protecting Filipino youths from the misleading and immoral content found on the internet.
He also stressed that the government must ensure the responsible use of social media and stop any abuse.
Padilla said social media networks should send representatives to Senate hearings so that lawmakers can craft laws not just to stop scammers on social media but also to protect youths from inappropriate content.
The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, said social media platforms should be considerate of the government’s efforts in upholding morality and youths’ rights.
“We are not saying we will ban them. But we need them to cooperate,” Padilla said.
“We want social media sites to know the Philippines is a very religious country, home to various faiths. We have a high degree of morality and social media platforms should respect our culture,” he added.
While he respects the freedom of speech and expression provided by the Constitution, he said no one should allow the abuse of such freedoms.
“Freedom is not a free-for-all thing. Freedom must include the protection of people’s rights—and the first rights to be protected should be those of our youths,” said Padilla.
If we want true progress and see our youths have a bright future, he said “we need to ensure freedom that is pro-God, pro-people, and pro-country.”
He also said it is about time for the state adopts a hard stance on the issue.
“We must take a hard stance on this. We will bring this to the Senate floor via a privilege speech. This is no joke. We cannot afford to just give aid to teens who get pregnant; we must also defend our morality,”he said.
Likewise, Padilla pointed out the state is a “parens patria” with the duty to protect the youth from abuses—and it cannot be remiss in such duty.
Earlier, he expressed alarm over the misleading information on social media platforms. He said the situation requires that the government take action.
The senator also assured there will be wide consultations with stakeholders in studying the government’s response.
He said this is not curtailing the freedom of speech. This is the proper care for youths by the state. The state cannot remain quiet.