THE Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has given Reddit and Discord 24 hours to establish a presence in the Philippines, warning that the two platforms could face restrictions or have their access blocked if they fail to comply.
In separate letters dated September 21, the CICC ordered the platforms to immediately designate, from receipt of the letters, a resident agent or local representative who can facilitate Philippine jurisdiction and improve coordination with local authorities.
The agency warned that failure or refusal to comply within the period could prompt it, in coordination with appropriate Philippine authorities, to restrict the platforms’ operations or prohibit users in the country from accessing them.
‘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 executive director, Undersecretary Renato Paraiso, said.
‘When an online threat spills over into the real world, there has to be clear channel for authorities to act,’ Paraiso added.
The ultimatum follows the September 18 shooting at Banga National High School in South Cotabato, the third school shooting in the country in just a few months, amid mounting concern over the use of online platforms to spread violent extremist content and exploit minors.
The CICC also directed Reddit and Discord to submit written explanations of their existing arrangements, along with concrete implementation plans for stronger safety standards, rapid response mechanisms, and age-verification or age-assurance measures.
The agency also asked the platforms to join a cooperative framework addressing the digital exploitation of minors, which it said has shifted from isolated online interactions to activities that fuel real-world violence and physical harm.
The proposed framework would cover networks involved in the creation, solicitation, possession, distribution, exchange, promotion, or monetization of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (Osaec) and child sexual abuse or exploitation materials (Csaem), as well as nihilistic violence extremism (NVE) occurring on the platforms.
The CICC has also formally asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to convene a coordination meeting and facilitate the participation of Meta, Discord, Reddit, and other social media platforms in discussions with the government on measures against online threats linked to violence and child exploitation.
Earlier this month, the government met with representatives of Meta and Roblox to form a technical working group that will implement stricter child safety measures, faster content takedowns, and secure age-verification mechanisms.
Reddit is a discussion platform organized into topic-based communities, while Discord is a messaging and community platform built on private messages and invitation-based servers. According to the agency, these features can create fertile ground for the grooming, recruitment, and radicalization of minors.
The agency said recent investigations have raised alarm over the online grooming and recruitment of minors, including links to NVE-associated communities. These concerns have been heightened by the school shooting in Tacloban City in June, the August 18 shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University, and the Banga National High School shooting.