BREAKING: Discord banned in PH — CICC

• Courtesy of CICC

Discord has been banned in the Philippines following a blocking order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) , with Globe already complying with the directive, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center Executive (CICC) Director Undersecretary Renato “Aboy” Paraiso confirmed to TechWatchPH.

Paraiso said the CICC sent its request to the NTC Tuesday night, September 22, to block Discord after reviewing the platform’s response to the government and finding that it did not contain the commitments being sought by Philippine authorities.

The CICC is also taking back an earlier report that the deadline for Discord had been extended after the platform sent a letter to the government.

According to Paraiso, a review of the letter showed that Discord did not commit to designating a representative or point person in the Philippines, establishing a “green lane” for direct coordination with authorities and setting up an information-sharing mechanism.

The CICC subsequently proceeded with its request for the NTC to order telcos and internet service providers to block access to Discord.

Paraiso said the blocking order remains in effect.

As of Wednesday night, Globe had already implemented the directive, making Discord inaccessible to users on their networks. Other telcos and ISPs are also expected to comply with the NTC order.

Cybersecurity group Deep Web Konek separately reported that Discord had become inaccessible to Globe users as implementation of the directive began.

Discord had earlier reached out to Philippine authorities after Reddit responded to a similar government directive and entered into discussions with the CICC.

Reddit responded within the original deadline and has since engaged CICC officials on mechanisms for cooperation with Philippine authorities.

The government is seeking stronger coordination with online platforms, particularly on cybercrime investigations and online child safety cases that require direct communication and information sharing with platform operators.