Roblox ban a last resort amid PH child safety concerns — CICC

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said on Tuesday that banning the online gaming platform Roblox—currently facing child safety concerns—is the last option Philippine authorities want to take.

“Let me state for the record that the last thing that we want to do is ban a platform and punish the legitimate users of that platform," said CICC executive director Renato “Aboy” Paraiso during a stakeholder meeting.

"But we cannot and will not blame the parents as well who are working and at the same time rearing their children,” he added.

Paraiso said the agency may consider stronger action if the platform fails to protect its young users.

“But if the platform fails to provide safety and ensure the welfare of those children, CICC will not hesitate to advocate and push forward with a ban,” he said.

Roblox is a virtual gaming platform where users can create and share their own games. Users only need to install the application and set up a profile and avatar to get started.

However, authorities have raised concerns over user anonymity, following reports that some young users were allegedly recruited for illegal activities.

The CICC is set to meet representatives from Roblox on April 7, ahead of an April 10 deadline for the platform to address child safety concerns.

If Roblox fails to comply, the agency earlier said it may direct internet service providers and telecommunications companies to block access to its servers and request the removal of the app from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

“Actually, kung mamo-move or masu-suspend or ili-lift natin yung execution ng ban nila on April 10 is totally dependent on the actions of Roblox. Sila ang may kontrol sa kapalaran nila dito sa Pilipinas,” Paraiso said.

(Whether the execution of the April 10 ban will be moved, suspended, or lifted depends entirely on Roblox’s actions. They control their fate in the Philippines.)

According to Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda, Roblox has an estimated 40 million daily active users in the Philippines.

He stressed that safeguarding platforms that enable children to express creativity remains the priority.

“We are not here to hinder or shut down avenues of creativity and innovation such as Roblox. We are here to make sure that these platforms remain safe spaces,” Aguda said.

“Kaya ngayon we are taking immediate actions, setting guardrails, strengthening safeguards, and ensuring that cybercriminals cannot exploit our children through these platforms and any other platform na magagamit po nila,” he added.

(That is why we are taking immediate actions, setting guardrails, strengthening safeguards, and ensuring that cybercriminals cannot exploit our children through these platforms or any other platform they may use.)

The Philippine National Police–Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) said mechanisms should be in place to monitor in-game communications.

“Real-time monitoring of in-game communications must be enhanced to detect and prevent predatory behavior. Inappropriate content and malicious accounts must be removed promptly, and reporting mechanisms should be simple and accessible for both children and their parents,” said PNP-ACG chief Police Brigadier General Wilson Asueta.

Community involvement

Authorities also urged Roblox users and developers to help promote safer online spaces.

“Pwede silang developer community, gumawa kayo ng reporting platform sa Roblox tapos sabihin natin kay Roblox,” Aguda said.

(The developer community can create a reporting platform within Roblox, which can then be endorsed to the company.)

Tristan Kurt Lamboon of the Filipino Roblox Developers Association said some users already help flag accounts exhibiting inappropriate behavior.

“If there is a suspicious account or one that engages in sexual behavior or mass shooting games, they are flagged and rated by other users, who identify the account as dangerous,” he said.

Paraiso welcomed the idea.

“I really appreciate that. Because the community must regulate itself. You should be the ones safeguarding it, as legitimate users will be the ones who suffer,” he said.

Council for the Welfare of Children executive director Angelo Tapales said developers within the platform can also contribute to creating safer environments.

“Since you are developing games on the platform, you should also help regulate it—perhaps by setting age limits for users of these platforms,” he said.

He said that when chats begin to border on bsaidullying or online sexual abuse, there should be clear community standards and internal reporting mechanisms in place.

"You elevate to law enforcement agencies for matters beyond your capacity,” Tapales added.

"Since you are developing games on the platform, you should also help regulate users—perhaps by setting age controls," he said.

"If chats border on bullying or online sexual abuse, there should be community standards and clear reporting mechanisms internally. Matters beyond your capacity should then be elevated to law enforcement," Tapales added.

The Filipino Roblox Developers Association also emphasized that ensuring safety on the platform is a shared responsibility.

“This solution goes hand in hand; it should never be the sole responsibility of any single party involved,” Lamboon said.—MCG, GMA News