MANILA, Philippines — The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) issued a 24-hour ultimatum on Tuesday, September 22, requiring social media platforms Reddit and Discord to establish a physical presence in the Philippines.
The agency warned that failing or refusing to comply with the directive could result in regulatory penalties. The CICC stated it “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.”
Official letters dated September 21 were dispatched to both companies, directing them to immediately designate a local representative or resident agent to facilitate law enforcement coordination and bring the platforms under Philippine jurisdiction upon receipt.
CICC Executive Director and Undersecretary Renato Paraiso clarified that the directive is meant to establish direct lines of communication during critical situations rather than requiring companies to police the web on behalf of the government.
“When an online threat spills over into the real world, there has to be clear channel for authorities to act,” Paraiso stated.
The regulatory order follows heightened government concern over online platforms being used to spread violent extremist content and groom minors, accelerated by the September 18 shooting incident at Banga National High School in South Cotabato—the country’s third campus shooting in recent months.
In addition to appointing local representatives, Reddit and Discord must submit written reports outlining their current safety measures, emergency response protocols, and age-verification systems. They were also instructed to join an inter-agency framework targeted at curbing online exploitation that leads to real-world harm.
The CICC noted that “the proposed framework would particularly 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 of materials (CSAEM), and nihilistic violence extremism (NVE) that occur in these platforms.”
To reinforce these efforts, the CICC has enlisted the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs to organize a coordination meeting involving Meta, Discord, Reddit, and other major social networks to address digital threats to public safety and child welfare.