After putting pressure on Facebook, the government is turning up the heat on Reddit and Discord, giving the platforms 24 hours to establish a local presence or risk having their 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,” the CICC said.

When an online threat spills over into the real world, there has to be a clear channel for authorities to act,” said Renato Paraiso, CICC executive director and head.

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

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.

It ordered Reddit and Discord to explain their existing arrangements and submit concrete plans to strengthen their 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 and exploitation materials, and nihilistic violence extremism.

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

The authorities earlier met with Meta and Roblox representatives to form a technical working group to strengthen child safety measures, speed up content takedowns, and secure age verification mechanisms.

Solons summon Zuckerberg

Following the recent deadly school shooting in South Cotabato and similar incidents linked to perpetrators’ exposure to violent gaming apps and social media, Malacañang urged Meta to heed calls from Philippine lawmakers to strengthen safety measures, including blocking violent messages received by young users who later turned to violence.

During the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) budget deliberations, House lawmakers summoned Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to address concerns over violence and child safety on Facebook.

“Not only our fellow Filipinos but also lawmakers are expressing what they want from these services. If these shortcomings are not addressed, they affect everyone, especially young people,” Palace Press Officer and Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said in Filipino.