Reddit and Discord Ordered to Establish Local Presence in 24 Hours—or Risk a Ban

(SPOT.ph) More and more corners of the internet are coming under scrutiny in the Philippines.

After Meta and Roblox, Reddit and Discord are now on the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center’s (CICC) radar, as authorities take a closer look at the online communities that have surfaced in investigations into recent school shootings.

The CICC has given both platforms 24 hours to establish a local presence in the Philippines. That doesn’t necessarily mean opening a full-blown Philippine office—the point is to have a local representative so authorities have someone they can coordinate with directly when an investigation leads to either platform.

It also wants both companies to explain existing arrangements and lay out plans for stronger online-safety standards, faster responses to threats, and age-verification measures.

The ultimatum comes just four days after the September 18 shooting at Banga National High School in South Cotabato, the third deadly school shooting in the country since June.

"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," CICC Executive Director Renato "Aboy" Paraiso said.

The 24-hour deadline doesn't mean Reddit and Discord will automatically be blocked once time runs out. However, if they refuse or fail to comply, the agency said it could coordinate with other government bodies to "restrict their operations or prohibit access of users to the platforms in the Philippines."

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According to the CICC, much of the concern comes down to how the platforms work.

"Reddit is a social discussion platform organized into topic-based communities, while Discord is a messaging and community platform that allows users to communicate through private messages and invitation-based servers, creating conditions that can provide fertile grounds for grooming, recruitment, and radicalization of minors," the CICC said in a statement.

But the concern isn’t just theoretical about how the platforms are designed. Reddit and Discord had already surfaced in the investigation into the June 22 shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, where two teenage students opened fire on campus, killing three students and injuring 20 others.

As authorities investigated what may have influenced the teenagers, they began looking into their online activity, as well as a possible connection to “764,” a loose international network that is associated with the online grooming of minors, violent content, and extremist communities.

During a Senate hearing on July 1, Senator Risa Hontiveros presented a screenshot of a message that was allegedly sent to one of the teenagers by a suspected adult groomer after the attack.

"Make sure na-delete mo ang Discord, Reddit, Telegram para walang evidence mahanap," the message read.

Hontiveros stressed that the information was still an investigative lead, not a final finding, and turned the details over to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for verification. Still, the message placed Reddit and Discord among the platforms investigators believed could contain part of the suspects' digital trail.

Also read: Intrigued by Discord? Here's Why the App is Growing Outside Its Gaming Roots