Child Rights Group Says No to Social Media Ban for Kids Under 16

The debate over whether children under 16 should be banned from social media is once again raising an important question for parents: Will keeping kids off social media really keep them safe?

For the Child Rights Network (CRN), the answer is no.

According to CRN, “Children, just like adults, have digital rights – and the government must put the best interests of the child at the heart of every decision affecting those rights.”

The child rights coalition has expressed its firm opposition to a blanket social media ban for children under 16, saying that while protecting children online is necessary, simply taking away their access is not the solution.

Instead, CRN is calling for a safer digital environment—one where children can learn, connect, express themselves, and participate while also being protected from bullying, exploitation, grooming and other online risks.

For today's children, the online world is not separate from everyday life. That is why CRN believes online protection should go beyond keeping children away from technology.

“The digital environment is no longer separate from our everyday human experience,” the group said. “It is an extension of our offline world, where adults learn, search for information, and communicate with their peers – a space to express ourselves and take part in what’s happening around us.”

CRN added, “Protecting children online, therefore, cannot simply mean keeping them away from the internet. It must also mean empowering them to safely thrive in it.”

The organization pointed to General Comment No. 25 of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 2021. The guidance explains how children's rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child apply in the digital environment. The Philippines is a State Party to the convention.

The group acknowledges that the legislators behind the proposed ban intend to protect children. Howeverm CRN argues that making the digital environment safer, rather than restricting access altogether, would better address online risks. According to CRN, governments have a responsibility to help create digital spaces that are not only safe but also accessible, inclusive, and enabling for children.

Educate our children. Children need to be taught how to recognize online risks, ask for help, and approach trusted adults when something feels wrong.

Create a safe space for our children. Parents need support in creating homes where children feel comfortable talking about what happens online. This means giving kids a safe space to ask questions or share experiences without immediately being judged, shamed, or punished.

Ensure that school and online environments are safe. Schools can also play a role by teaching digital citizenship, online safety, and how to report cyberbullying and online abuse.

Holding platforms and adults accountable for safety. CRN also said social media platforms and adults must be held accountable for creating or enabling unsafe online environments, including through platform design, business models, harmful content, grooming, and exploitation.

The network also wants children themselves to have a seat at the table: “It sidelines the responsibility of legislators to consult in a meaningful way the very sector that it seeks to protect – the children. We ask, in all these debates and proposed resolutions about a social media ban: Where are the voices of our children?”

One child representative from the Batang Juan Network, a CRN member organization, said banning social media for everyone under 16 may not be the best solution because social media has already become part of how many students learn and express themselves.

The young representative said age-based rules and parental guidance could be better alternatives, particularly as more communities move toward digital and smart spaces. The representative also suggested that schools teach students about digital citizenship, online safety, and how to report cyberbullying and abuse.

CRN also pointed to Australia's under-16 social media restriction, characterizing it as a politically driven rather than evidence-based decision. The organization cited an independent report indicating that nearly 86% of surveyed children under 16 continued to use at least one platform covered by the restrictions. In many cases, parents were reportedly the ones who created accounts for their children.

The point, CRN says, is not that children don't need protection. They absolutely do. The bigger question is what kind of protection actually works.

CRN believes the better approach is to prepare children for the digital world they are already navigating.

“If we are to truly protect children, we need to make their environments safer and prepare them for the digital world they already are living in. And most importantly, in all matters affecting children, we must not forget that they have a right to be consulted,” the group concluded.

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