CICC gives Reddit, Discord 24 hours to establish PH presence

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has given Reddit and Discord 24 hours to establish a presence in the Philippines as the government moves to strengthen coordination with online platforms amid concerns over minors’ exposure to violent and harmful online content.

In separate letters dated Sept. 21, the CICC directed the two platforms to immediately designate a resident agent or local representative who can facilitate coordination with Philippine authorities.

The agency said the representative should be reachable, accountable, and responsive when activities on the platforms pose risks to Filipino children and communities.

“We are not asking platforms to police the internet for the government but to be reachable, accountable, and responsive when activities on their platforms put Filipino children and communities at risk. When an online threat spills over into the real world, there has to be clear channel for authorities to act,” CICC Undersecretary Renato “Aboy” Paraiso said.

The directive comes amid growing government concern over the use of online platforms in spreading violent extremist content and ideologies, as well as the exploitation of minors, particularly following the shooting incident at Banga National High School in South Cotabato on Sept. 18.

Aside from requiring local representatives, the CICC directed Reddit and Discord to submit written explanations of their existing arrangements and concrete plans to strengthen safety standards, rapid response mechanisms, and age verification or age assurance measures.

The agency also sought the platforms’ participation in a cooperative framework aimed at addressing what it described as the shift of digital exploitation of minors from isolated online interactions to activities that could result in real world violence and physical harm.

Under the proposed framework, authorities and platforms would focus on networks involved in the creation, solicitation, possession, distribution, exchange, promotion, or monetization of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, child sexual abuse or exploitation materials, and nihilistic violence extremism.

The CICC said it has also tapped the Department of Foreign Affairs to help coordinate and facilitate the participation of Meta, Discord, Reddit, and other social media platforms in discussions with the government on measures addressing online threats involving violence and child exploitation.

The agency warned that failure or refusal to comply with the prescribed period could prompt it, in coordination with appropriate Philippine authorities, to restrict the platforms’ operations or prohibit access to users in the country.

The government earlier met with Meta and Roblox representatives to form a technical working group aimed at implementing stricter child safety measures, faster takedowns of harmful content, and secure age verification mechanisms.