Discord ban lifted --CICC

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The ban order against media sharing and messaging platform Discord has been lifted, the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s (DICT) Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said Thursday.

“Yup, we're ordering the lifting,” DICT Undersecretary Renato "Aboy" Paraiso, executive director of the CICC, told GMA News Online.

The lifting came after the CICC and Discord management’s meeting earlier to discuss compliance matters.

Paraiso earlier said, “we have a meeting with them (Discord) at 12 noon later.”

The ban took effect Wednesday evening after the CICC clarified that it did not extend the 24-hour period given to Discord to establish Philippine presence "pending direct discussions with the platform and concrete commitments on the CICC's requirements."

“Discord separately reached out to the CICC in a letter to express its willingness to engage with the agency on its existing teen safety measures," the CICC said.

The CICC on Tuesday gave both Reddit and Discord 24 hours to establish a Philippine presence within 24 hours to enhance collaboration with the government following the shooting at the Banga National High School in South Cotabato.

The agency earlier said it gave extensions to both Discord and Reddit, but issued a clarification that only Reddit was granted an extension.

Discord told the CICC that the newly rolled out Global Teen Experience would ensure that teenagers are placed in age-appropriate places on their platform.

Discord Senior Public Policy Advisor Vasundhara Singh said users who cannot be placed in a specific age group will have to confirm their age through facial age estimation, with biometric data not being stored in Discord.

The shooting in South Cotabato is the third school shooting incident in 2026.

In June, two students opened fire in a high school in Tacloban, killing three others.

Not more than two months later, in August, another student shot and killed a schoolmate in Ateneo de Zamboanga before turning the gun on himself. —VAL, GMA News