Discord ban lifted after deal with DICT, CICC

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Thursday lifted the ban on Discord following what officials described as successful talks with representatives of the messaging platform over child safety measures.

The development came less than a day after access to Discord was restricted amid government concerns that predators and other threat actors were using online platforms to target minors.

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda confirmed the lifting of the ban during a press conference at the House of Representatives, saying the government’s action was intended to protect children.

“There was no other motive behind this step. With direct coordination with Discord, we hoped for concrete and immediate action from the platform to reduce the threat for the Filipino youth,” Aguda said.

Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Executive Director and DICT Undersecretary Renato “Aboy” Paraiso said discussions with Discord focused on stronger safety protocols and improving coordination between the platform and Philippine authorities.

Paraiso said the CICC would continue monitoring whether Discord implements the measures it committed to during the talks.

Asked about the government’s swift decision to impose and then lift the ban, Paraiso said authorities were seeking concrete commitments from the platform on online child safety.

“We are easy to talk to. As long as we reach an agreement for online child safety and they agree to it, not just a commitment…there would be no reason to exclude this platform. We are not here to manipulate or suppress these platforms,” Paraiso said.

Aguda said the Discord restriction was not the first time the government had blocked an online platform over child safety concerns, citing the temporary ban imposed on artificial intelligence chatbot Grok earlier this year.

Grok was blocked in January over concerns that its image-generation features could be used to create nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes, including images involving minors. The government later lifted the restriction after developer xAI committed to corrective measures.

Aguda said Discord similarly acknowledged the government’s concerns and expressed willingness to work with Philippine authorities.

“Hopefully, the public can understand, banning a platform is not an easy decision to make,” Aguda said.

Predatory schemes

Paraiso said online predators may initially contact minors through social media or gaming platforms before moving conversations to other communication services such as Discord.

Officials raised concerns over the difficulty parents may face in monitoring their children’s private online conversations.

Aguda said encrypted communications have legitimate uses but stressed the need for safeguards when minors are involved.

“Encrypted communication is valid for adults, for those that have responsibility to use encrypted communication. But for children…how can we know what they talk about without parental guidance, shouldn’t parents have the responsibility on children?” Aguda said.

Discord says its voice and video calls are end-to-end encrypted. Its standard text messaging, however, is not covered by the same end-to-end encryption system.

Ban meant to protect children

Paraiso also rejected suggestions that the government lifted the Discord ban because of public backlash.

He said the CICC’s decision to restrict access was prompted by concerns over online threats to children, particularly following recent school shooting incidents that authorities have examined for possible links to harmful online activity.

“We understand that there’s a certain segment of society that uses [Discord], it is easier to have a conversation with those that were displaced and affected, it is easier to talk to them…rather than with parents that lost their children,” he said.

“That’s a hard conversation to have, and I’d rather converse with people that are affected because we can do something about it,” he added.

Paraiso said authorities would continue engaging online platforms to strengthen safeguards and improve coordination in cases involving threats to minors.