DICT, online platform execs meet; Discord ban lifted

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has lifted the ban on social media platform Discord less than 24 hours after it was imposed, with officials citing the success of compliance talks with its executives over online child safety concerns.

The DICT and its Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) confirmed the lifting of the ban on Thursday, but it also came after the two agencies drew heavy criticism from netizens.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to apologize to those who were affected and inconvenienced by the hours-long ban on Discord. Please don’t worry, as we are already working to resolve everything,” Undersecretary Renato Paraiso, CICC executive director, said in a press conference.

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The CICC on Tuesday gave Discord and another online platform, Reddit, a 24-hour deadline to establish a Philippine presence or representative that can facilitate direct communication between the companies and local authorities whenever issues over content arise.

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READ: Watchdog: Don’t make legitimate Discord users collateral damage

The action followed last week’s deadly campus shooting in South Cotabato, the third in the country in as many months, which revived discussions about online grooming or violent behaviors traceable to social media influence.

“We also just want to tell you that when we spoke with Reddit and Discord, they recognized the issue,” DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said, reporting on the online meeting.

‘Green lane’ promised

Paraiso added: “This means on these platforms there will be no place for those who hide, exploit, or harm our children. We have urged them to establish a local satellite office or designate representatives in our country.”

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“Like Reddit, Discord has promised to provide us with a ‘green lane’ [for] monitoring and identifying threat actors on their platform,” Paraiso said.

Aguda acknowledged the widespread use of the platforms, but stressed that they could be misused in ways that put young people at risk. “[It] isn’t just happening in the Philippines; it’s happening worldwide. It’s on the rise,” the secretary said.

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Instant backlash

Aside from designating a local contact, Reddit and Discord were also asked to apprise the DICT of their safety standards, rapid response mechanisms, and age-verification systems, among others.

Prior to the lifting of the ban on Discord, online communities lashed at the DICT restriction, calling it a “reactive” and “lazy” approach that affected even Filipinos who legitimately use the platform for work and business.

“Blanket blocking is a reactive policy that affects not only bad actors,” said Scam Watch Pilipinas in a statement on Thursday, adding: “Target the harmful content. Target the criminals. Do not make legitimate Filipino users collateral damage.”

Roblox Filipino Catholics also weighed in, saying: “The blanket ban is a reactive, nonsensical, lazy, and unstudied approach which is characteristic to many of the current administration’s decisions.”

In a social media post on Wednesday, former DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy questioned the legality of the ban, citing a Supreme Court ruling that held the unilateral takedown of online resources without a court order as “unconstitutional.”

He pointed to Discord communities such as Barangay VA Helpdesk, which has more than 12,000 members, as well as to the Nexus and Jobcord servers, saying these groups serve Filipinos who work freelance as virtual assistants.

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“Congratulations, DICT,” Dy said with sarcasm. “Because of our failure to apprehend criminals online, we sacrificed some 15,000 legitimate Filipino workers on Discord.” —Reports from Andrea Gregorio and Holly Bacay