Philippines’ short-lived Discord ban exposes cracks in online safety strategy

The Philippines’ decision to block messaging platform Discord for less than a day following a series of school shootings has raised questions about the government’s response to child safety online, with analysts describing the move as a show of regulatory muscle that did little to address underlying problems.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) announced on Thursday that it had lifted the ban after what officials described as successful negotiations with Discord over compliance with child safety measures.

The government’s action came days after a shooting on September 18 at Banga National High School in South Cotabato, where a student opened fire on classmates, killing two students and himself, and injuring eight others.

Authorities said they were investigating whether the student had been influenced by online conversations, while the government also raised concerns about online communities being used to groom or radicalise minors and potentially encourage real-world violence.