Philippines Orders Discord, Reddit to Establish Local Offices

MANILA, Philippines — Online community platforms Discord and Reddit have been directed to establish their own offices in the Philippines as local authorities continue to examine the spread of violent ideologies online. The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said Tuesday, September 22, that they have sent separate letters to the executives of the two platforms demanding their immediate presence in the country. The letters, dated September 21, pressed the two platforms to set up an office and to designate a resident agent or local representative who can coordinate with the Philippine authorities within 24 hours after their receipt of the letter. “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. The move came following the school shooting incident in South Cotabato on September 18, which is the third recorded incident of a school shooting in the country involving students as shooters. The alleged suspect in the recent killing, who is a 16-year-old Grade 9 student, killed two of his classmates and himself using the handgun of his father, who works for the Department of Education (DepEd). Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla earlier said that based on the initial police investigation, the suspect had access to the dark web. Remulla then called for a total ban against websites and online platforms that promote violence and hate. Meanwhile, the CICC said they are also seeking the two platforms’ cooperation in developing the proposed framework to combat online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC), child sexual abuse or exploitation of materials (CSAEM), and nihilistic violent extremism (NVE). The CICC also tapped the help of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in setting up a meeting with the executives of Discord, Reddit and Meta to address other forms of “online threats linked to violence and the exploitation of children”. The Philippine government had earlier met with executives from Meta and Roblox late in August to discuss the implementation of child safety measures and to establish their respective local offices as well. Reddit and Discord were also directed by the CICC to submit a written explanation of their existing safety and age verification measures. “The CICC warned that failure or refusal to comply with the prescribed period could prompt the agency, in coordination with appropriate Philippine authorities, to restrict their operations or prohibit access of users to the platforms in the Philippines,” the agency said.