CICC’s 24-hour ultimatum looks more like panic than a plan

DECODED: TECH, TRUTH, AND THREATS

Three deadly school shootings in just a few months demand urgent government action. But urgency should not become an excuse for actions that appear dramatic without clearly addressing the problem.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has given Reddit and Discord 24 hours to setup an office in the Philippines. It also warned that failure to comply could lead to restrictions or even blocking access to the platforms.

I support holding technology companies accountable, particularly when children are being groomed, exploited or exposed to dangerous online communities.

But this ultimatum raises a disturbing question: Is the CICC responding to the crisis, or scrambling to show that it is doing something?

1. What can realistically happen in 24 hours?

Designating a representative and establishing a Philippine office are very different things.

A foreign company might be able to appoint a lawyer or representative quickly. Establishing a corporate presence involves registration, legal documentation, taxation, employment, banking and internal approvals.

If CICC merely wants an accountable local contact, it should say exactly that. If it expects an office within 24 hours, it should explain how this can realistically and legally be accomplished.

2. Where did the 24-hour deadline come from?

CICC should identify the precise legal authority allowing it to impose this deadline and threaten nationwide restrictions for noncompliance.

This is particularly important because the Supreme Court struck down Section 19 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act in Disini v. Secretary of Justice. That provision had authorized the government to restrict or block access to computer data based on a prima facie finding. The Court declared it unconstitutional.

That does not necessarily mean no other legal mechanism for restricting a platform exists. But if CICC intends to block Reddit or Discord, Filipinos deserve to know under what law, through what procedure and upon whose authority.

A press release cannot create legal authority.

3. Blocking platforms does not eliminate the threat

Block Discord and Reddit. Then what?

Dangerous communities can migrate to WhatsApp ñ, Telegram, private messaging applications, gaming chats, obscure forums or platforms authorities may not even know about.

The problem moves.

Online grooming and violent extremism require intelligence, digital forensics, evidence preservation, platform cooperation and investigators who understand these communities.

Blocking an application is not a cybersecurity strategy.

4. Investigate before deciding where the blame belongs

The Sept. 18 attack at Banga National High School in South Cotabato was the third deadly school shooting in the country within months, following incidents in Tacloban and Zamboanga.

That pattern is deeply alarming and demands investigation into the perpetrators’ digital footprints.

But authorities must first establish what actually happened online. Which platforms were used? Who communicated with the perpetrators? Was anyone encouraging violence? Were they being groomed or recruited? Are the three incidents connected in any meaningful way?

Follow the evidence wherever it leads instead of selecting platforms first and investigating later.

5. The internet did not pull the trigger

Online influence must be investigated, but so must access to firearms.

In the Banga shooting, authorities said the 9-mm pistol used by the teenager belonged to his father.

That raises equally urgent questions. How did a minor obtain the weapon? Were there warning signs? Were threats reported? What did the family and school know? What intervention mechanisms existed?

Blaming platforms risks oversimplifying a problem involving online behavior, mental and social factors, school security, parental responsibility and access to firearms.

6. CICC should coordinate, not panic

CICC exists precisely to coordinate government responses to cybercrime and facilitate cooperation with the private sector and international partners.

Requiring platforms to maintain emergency law-enforcement contacts makes sense. So do rapid evidence-preservation procedures, credible threat-reporting systems and stronger cooperation when children are in danger.

But these mechanisms should be institutionalized, not improvised after the third school shooting.

The 24-hour ultimatum risks becoming performative enforcement, a dramatic action that creates the appearance of decisiveness without showing how it prevents another tragedy.

Investigate the perpetrators’ digital footprints. Identify dangerous networks. Preserve evidence. Examine firearm access. Strengthen school threat reporting. Establish emergency channels with platforms. Build digital-forensics capabilities.

And hold technology companies accountable when the law and evidence justify it.

Children have died. Government cannot settle for showing that it is doing something. It must show that it knows what it is doing.