CICC lifts hours-long ban on Discord
Several hours after it banned Discord in the Philippines, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center removed the restriction.
CICC Executive Director Undersecretary Aboy Paraiso said during a press briefing on Thursday, Sept. 24, the ban began late afternoon on Wednesday, Sept. 23, after CICC sent a letter to the National Telecommunications Commission regarding the restriction. At around 5 p.m., telecommunications companies and internet service providers began implementing the ban by taking out the URL of Discord from their platforms.
According to Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda, the ban was put in place with the sole objective of keeping Filipino children safe online.
"Mahalagang linawin na ang ban ay ipinatupad natin para lamang sa isang layunin: ang kaligtasan at proteksyon ng ating mga anak. Walang ibang motibo sa likod ng hakbang na ito," Aguda said.
On Sept. 21, CICC sent a letter to Discord and online forum platform Reddit ordering both to set up headquarters in the Philippines. Per Paraiso, perpetrators of recent incidents of nihilistic violent extremism activities used both platforms in their agenda. Both were given 48 hours to comply with CICC's requirements.
Reddit was given an extension on Sept. 23 after it reached out to CICC, reiterating the company's commitment to working with the agency on its goals for the online child protection campaign. Discord was not given an extension pending direct discussions with the platform, and was subsequently banned.
The restriction was lifted the next day, however, after Discord communicated directly with CICC and the Department of Information and Communications Technology, promising to immediately implement steps toward protecting its child users.
"Nakipagugnay po ang Discord sa atin, sa DICT at CICC at nangakong magsasagawa sila immediately ng mga hakbang upang higit nang mapalakas ang proteksyon ng mga kabataan," said Aguda.
"Ibinahagi rin sa atin ng Discord na alam nila ang mga pangyayari na nagaganap sa platform nila on NVE (Nihilistic Violent Extremism) and they also recognize and acknowledge na meron ngang kailangang ayusin at merong kailangang paghigpitan sa kanilang mga polisiya," Aguda added.
Next steps for Discord
Per Paraiso, Discord was in full agreement with CICC and DICT's online child protection objectives when the company met with government representatives on Thursday, Sept. 24.
"Ikinagagalak naming ibalita sa inyo na naging matagumpay ang nangyaring meeting at nakuha na natin ang commitment ng Discord na makikipagtulungan sila sa atin na maabot ang ating mga layunin na mas higpitan ang ang mga pinapatupad nating online child safety measures para sa ating bansa," Paraiso said.
Discord has now designated point persons whom the government can reach for any urgent concerns regarding user safety on the platform.
It has also established green lane mechanisms for requests of content takedowns. These green lanes will also give government representatives access to credentials of threat actors.
According to Paraiso, these steps were taken to target specific threats, not the general populace using Discord.
"Gusto natin...'yung aksyon ng pamahalaan, targeted du'n sa mga gumagawa ng masama at hindi maapektuhan 'yung mga lehitimong gumagamit ng mga platforms," said Paraiso.
"It's a win for the Filipino children. It's a win for the Philippines. It's a win for the platform. Today, we celebrate the triumph of online child safety," Paraiso said of the fruitful talks with Discord.
Show-cause order vs Meta
Aguda shared that over a year before Reddit and Discord were called out, the Philippine government was already trying to reach Meta founder, chairman, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to ask him to make the company accountable to Filipino users, especially children, who are being victimized on the platform.
Efforts included sending two letters to Zuckerberg, speaking to Meta's Asia Pacific leadership in Singapore, and drafting a memorandum of understanding that contained the safety protocols being demanded by the government.
In its latest move, the National Privacy Commission issued a show-cause letter against Facebook and other platforms seeking their explanation on how these companies are keeping safe the millions of private information they have gathered from Filipinos.
NPC has yet to give an update on the response of these platforms.
