Social media age limits are moving from policy debate to legislation, but governments are not agreeing on one rule. The Philippine House and Senate have each passed separate proposals with very different age cutoffs, while Greece has proposed a plan for a minimum age of 15. None is in force as of October 15, 2026. The next test is whether age checks can protect young users without creating a new privacy problem.
Philippines: a House-Senate split
On October 12, the Philippine House of Representatives passed a bill that would bar children under 13 from accessing social-media platforms. The Reuters report, carried by Philstar’s Interaksyon, says the measure now has to be reconciled with the Senate’s separate proposal.
The Senate passed Senate Bill No. 2424, the SMART KIDS Act, on October 8. It would prohibit anyone under 18 from using social media and other designated “high-risk digital services.” The text would require platforms to prevent new accounts and to suspend, restrict, disable or remove existing accounts reasonably determined to be used by a minor. The bill passed 16–1, according to Rappler.
That five-year gap reflects two different philosophies. The House bill sets a cutoff for younger children, then proposes tighter, age-specific safeguards for older teenagers. In a pre-vote summary, Rappler described limits around harmful advertising, livestreaming, algorithm-driven short-video feeds, contact from unknown adults and some AI features. The Senate bill takes the broader under-18 approach. Reuters reported that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned a blanket ban could lead children to hide their online activity, leaving them vulnerable to grooming and abuse. Lawmakers must reconcile the two texts before a final draft can go to the president.
Greece proposes a minimum age of 15
Greece has proposed a bill that would require users to be at least 15 to hold social media accounts and require platforms to check users’ ages. The proposal initially names Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Snapchat. The government aims to put it to a parliamentary vote on October 22 and wants the restrictions to take effect on January 1, 2027, according to Biometric Update.
Greek officials have pointed to the government’s Gov.gr Wallet and Kids Wallet as possible privacy-conscious ways to confirm eligibility without handing platforms a user’s full identity. That promise will depend on the details: what data an age check collects, who stores it and how long it is kept. The bill is still a proposal, not a rule that families or platforms must follow today.
Why social media age limits are only one part of online safety
These debates are part of a wider push to make platforms responsible for children’s online experience. But an age threshold is only as useful as its enforcement—and a verification system can create its own privacy risks if it gathers more information than necessary. The Philippine split also shows why policymakers are arguing over whether a single cutoff is fair for both younger children and older teens.
Families do not have to wait for legislation to review device privacy and screen-time settings. If you want a dedicated control layer, compare a service such as Qustodio with the free tools already built into phones; check app coverage, pricing and data practices before subscribing. For more practical context, read DuskFlick’s digital wellness guide and AI safety playbook. We’ll update this story when either proposal becomes law—or changes course.