Senator Erwin Tulfo blasts social media platforms over school shooting content

Senator Erwin Tulfo criticized social media platforms for allowing the posting of content related to the Zamboanga City and Tacloban school shootings despite their existing “community standards.”

In a privilege speech, Tulfo questioned what he described as the lack of proactive measures by Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, YouTube, X, and TikTok to prevent violent material from spreading, particularly given its potential impact on children.

“Ang mga kumpanyang ito ay may kanya-kanyang ‘community standards’ daw. Kung malinaw talaga ang kanilang mga patakaran, bakit patuloy pa ring nakakalusot at kumakalat ang ganitong mga uri ng materyal?” Tulfo asked.

“Ang krimen ay hindi pang-entertainment. Ang paghihirap ng biktima ay hindi content. At ang mukha ng isang batang biktima o suspek man ay hindi dapat maging viral material,” he added.

Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, said social media companies have the resources and responsibility to prevent graphic content from going viral, especially when cases involving the incidents remain under judicial proceedings.

He called for legislation that would impose heavier fines or penalties on platforms that repeatedly allow prohibited content, particularly material depicting violence against children.

“Kaya kailangan nating pag-aralan ang isang batas na magpapataw ng mabibigat na multa o parusa sa mga social media platforms na paulit-ulit na nagpapalabas ng mga larawan o video na ipinagbabawal na content—lalo na at nagpapakita ng karahasan laban sa mga bata,” Tulfo said.

“A policy written on a website means very little if your algorithms and moderators allow prohibited content to be uploaded online and remain there long enough for millions of people, including children, to see it. Let us therefore demand accountability—not to silence social media, but to make it safer,” he said.