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 clear channel for authorities to act. – Renato Paraiso, CICC Executive Director Undersecretary
On September 21, 2026, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) issued separate letters to online platforms Reddit and Discord to immediately designate a resident agent or local representative who can facilitate Philippine jurisdiction to further enhance coordination and cooperation with local authorities, within 24 hours.
The move follows several cases of non-violent extremism linked to several school shooting incidents, including the most recent shooting in Banga National High School in South Cotabato on September 18, 2026, to strengthen coordination with digital platforms. The decision has come amid growing concerns over the use of online platforms, stemming from the sharing of violent and extremist content and ideologies that may involve minors.
The CICC also directed Reddit and Discord to submit written explanations of their existing arrangements and concrete implementation plans to further enhance all standards in online safety and security, rapid response mechanisms, and protective measures through age verification and age assurance.
If the platforms do not comply with the said order, the agency, in cooperation with related governing agencies, will restrict their operations or prevent access of users from accessing Reddit and Discord in the Philippines. Earlier, on September 23, 2026, access to Discord has been banned initially to users of Globe and DITO Telecommunity, which was later lifted according to a news report.
However, Reddit will remain accessible in the Philippines following the agency’s decision to grant an extension to comply with the order of setting up a local office and to work with the government and strengthen online safety. Reddit responded within the 24-hour ultimatum and engaged with CICC officials in a recent online meeting.
During the meeting, several officials from Reddit, including Policy Vice President Jessica Ashooh, Deputy General Counsel Leslie Liu, and Policy and Regulatory Affairs Manager Vijay Pamarathi, discussed a direct way for Philippine authorities to flag potentially inappropriate content for expedited review and removal on the platform. The online platform is also committed to establishing a Philippine office and a CICC coordinating team, despite it did not providing a specific timeline for putting these mechanisms in place.
We decided to grant them (Reddit) an extension since they responded within the 24 hours and we want to give them the opportunity to work with us because what we want is accountability and a clear mechanism for government to coordinate with the platforms, Paraiso said following the meeting.
CICC originally clarified on September 23, 2026, that the 24-hour directive was only applied to Reddit, while Discord had reached out to them in a letter to express its willingness to engage on its existing safety measures, but the agency had decided not to grant the extension to allow them to maintain their Philippine presence, despite the rollout of their Global Teen Experience, a feature with age-assurance measures designed to place minor users in an age-appropriate experience by default, while they had prepared to brief the agency.
Discord Senior Public Policy Advisor Vasundhara Singh said that under the new system, any user who cannot be confidently placed into an age group through account-level signals may confirm their age through privacy-preserving methods, on-device age estimation, and biometric data not shared with or stored by the online chatting platform.
The online chatting platform also offered to brief the CICC on their own tools and systems, including Discord Family Center and Kodex, allowing law enforcement agencies to submit lawful takedown and data requests and receive fast-tracked responses.
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© 2026 DRPS Philippine Commercial Archives (DRPS PHCA). All Rights Reserved. PHCA CID: PHCA-2026H2-5283/September 24, 2026.
