Discord ban lifted —CICC - GMA Network
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.
At a press briefing, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda announced that Discord already committed to strengthen its child protection measures in the platform.
“They also recognized and acknowledged na merong kailangan ayusin at paghigpitan sa kanilang mga polisiya (their policies need fixing and be stricter),” Aguda said.
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.
During the press briefing, Paraiso apologized for the inconvenience caused by the hours-long inaccessibility of Discord.
“Humihingi ako ng pasensya sa lahat ng naapektuhan at mga naabala sa ilang oras na ban ng Discord sa bansa. Inaayos na namin ang lahat kaagapay ang Discord,” the CICC chief said.
(I apologize to everyone affected and inconvenienced by the few-hour Discord ban in the country. We are already fixing everything in coordination with Discord.)
Paraiso said Discord has committed to give the agency a “green lane” to monitor and recognize threat actors in its platform.
The platform was also given the choice to either establish a local satellite office or send representatives in the country for ease of communication and coordination.
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/RSJ, GMA News
