After putting Facebook under pressure, the government is turning up the heat on Reddit and Discord, giving the platforms just 24 hours to establish a local presence or risk having access restricted in the country.

In separate letters dated 21 September, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) ordered Reddit and Discord to immediately designate a resident agent or local representative to facilitate Philippine jurisdiction and coordinate with authorities.

“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 a clear channel for authorities to act,” CICC Executive Director and Head Renato Paraiso said on Tuesday.

The CICC warned that failure or refusal to comply within the prescribed period could prompt the government to restrict their operations or block user access to Reddit and Discord in the country.

The warning followed the 18 September shooting at Banga National High School in South Cotabato—the third school shooting incident in the country within a few months.

The CICC cited growing concerns over the use of online platforms to spread violent extremist content and ideologies and exploit minors.

Reddit and Discord were ordered to explain their existing arrangements and submit concrete plans to strengthen safety standards, rapid-response mechanisms and age-verification or age-assurance measures.

The CICC also wants the platforms to join a cooperative framework targeting online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, child sexual abuse or exploitation materials, and nihilistic violence extremism.

It has also tapped the Department of Foreign Affairs to initiate talks involving Meta, Discord, Reddit and other social media platforms on measures against online threats linked to violence and child exploitation.

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