Senate President Vicente Sotto III is pushing for a policy that would limit Filipinos to one verified social media account per platform to curb the spread of online trolls.
“That would be the best approach. One person, one account,” he said.
The senate chief raised the proposal amid heightened online attacks linked to debates over the West Philippine Sea.
“It should be one person, one account on every internet platform so that trolls will be eliminated. How do we do that? We need it,” said Sotto.
“It has to be coordinated with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. One person, one account, that’s clear. If it isn’t verified, remove it,” he explained.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology is also mulling a plan to require the registration of social media accounts, which has since drawn opposition from rights groups citing privacy and free expression concerns.
Sotto previously floated a similar idea in 2021, saying Facebook could reduce troll activity by limiting users to a single account.
The proposal was conveyed to him during discussions about concerns over alleged troll farms ahead of the 2022 national and local elections.
