Philippine House Calls on Mark Zuckerberg for Joint Hearing With DICT

The House of Representatives has called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear in a congressional hearing alongside the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to address mounting concerns over social media safety.

According to an official announcement released by the DICT on September 17, 2026, the legislative inquiry will focus on driving platform accountability and combating the proliferation of harmful online content. Lawmakers, alongside digital safety advocates, aim to establish more robust, concrete safeguards to protect Filipino internet users within digital spaces.

The high-profile summons follows escalating discussions between Philippine regulators and Meta representatives regarding content moderation, fake news demotions, and the removal of pages violating local laws.

Courtesy:  DICT

UPDATE | DICT Clarifies: No Formal House Invitation Issued to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg

September 22, 2026 | The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has clarified that the House of Representatives has not formally summoned Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg to a congressional hearing.

The clarification, issued via an official press statement on September 21, 2026, corrects a viral "Breaking" social media post published by the DICT on September 17, 2026. The initial announcement stated that lawmakers had called on Zuckerberg to face a house inquiry alongside the DICT to address severe concerns surrounding social media safety, digital fraud, and online child exploitation.

While the DICT confirmed that its 2027 budget deliberations were indeed deferred by the House of Representatives pending additional disclosures, it emphasized that no official legislative resolution or invitation has been extended to the Meta executive. The agency has since advised the public and media outlets to rely on its updated statement to prevent further misinformation.

Courtesy:  DICT