House OKs child online safety bill with AI safeguards

The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill that seeks to strengthen the country's protections against online child sexual abuse and exploitation, with new safeguards addressing threats posed by artificial intelligence (AI).

House Bill No. 9461 or the proposed Child Online Safety and Protection Act of 2026 got 284 votes on Tuesday's plenary session.

The bill strengthens and expands Republic Act No. 11930, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials Act, by broadening enforcement mechanisms and updating legal protections to address emerging threats.

Among its key provisions is the expansion of the definition of child sexual abuse or exploitation materials to include artificial intelligence-generated, synthetic and digitally manipulated content, including deepfakes involving children.

The measure also criminalizes a broader range of offenses, including online grooming, sexual extortion, luring, image-based sexual abuse and livestreamed exploitation.

Those convicted of producing, distributing, livestreaming or facilitating child sexual abuse materials may face life imprisonment and fines of at least P2 million.

Individuals found guilty of possessing such materials may face up to 20 years in prison, while those convicted of knowingly accessing them may face penalties of up to 12 years imprisonment.

“The message is simple and unequivocal: those who exploit children, whether through digital platforms, financial networks or emerging technologies, will be pursued and held accountable. Technology may evolve, but our commitment to protecting children must remain one step ahead of those who seek to harm them," House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III said.

In a separate statement, ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said the bill is not merely a policy update, but "a moral imperative that will define the legacy of this Congress."

"The digital landscape that our children inhabit has become a hunting ground for predators who operate with technological sophistication that our current legal frameworks have not yet matched. Every day, across our archipelago, children are exploited through livestreamed abuse, deepfakes engineered to destroy their dignity, sexual extortion schemes, and the circulation of material that wounds them not just once but perpetually through its redistribution online," De Lima said. —LDF, GMA News