Roblox, Meta agree to strengthen child

Roblox and Meta have agreed to strengthen child-safety protections for users in the Philippines, including age verification, parental controls and faster removal of harmful content, as the country weighs tougher rules governing minors’ access to digital platforms.

The commitments were made during face-to-face meetings between Philippine officials and executives from both companies in Singapore, according to information and communications technology secretary Henry Aguda.

The measures will also include closer cooperation with law enforcement and greater engagement with Philippine legislators as Congress considers new online safety policies.

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“Both agreed to the safety protocols that we requested,” Aguda told Reuters, citing requirements for the companies to establish a local office presence, provide age verification, cooperate with law enforcement and remove harmful content more quickly.

The discussions also have a local footprint component. Roblox is aiming to establish a Philippine office as early as October, while Meta plans to send a team to Manila to discuss the timeline for expanding its presence in the country, Aguda said.

For marketers and platforms operating in the Philippines, the commitments signal growing expectations around how digital services verify users’ ages, manage parental controls and respond to harmful material involving younger audiences.

The agreement comes as Philippine lawmakers consider measures that could further restrict children’s access to social media. The debate has intensified following recent incidents of violence, including a deadly shooting at a university in the southern Philippines last week, during which officials said a student livestreamed the attack, as well as a separate school shooting in June.

The Singapore talks also followed a major US development involving Meta. One day earlier, the company agreed to pay up to US$18 billion over the next decade and introduce additional safeguards for teenage users in the US to settle claims brought by US states alleging that its platforms harmed children.

The US measures include usage limits, parental controls and stronger age-assurance measures. Meta has denied wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement.

Aguda had said before the Singapore meetings that the US settlement would “boost” discussions with Meta around child safety and platform accountability.

The Philippine government is now considering how regulation should apply to minors across digital services, with proposals ranging from tighter safeguards to restrictions or potential bans on children using social media.

From AI-powered marketing and the friction economy to retention-led growth, DMA Philippines 2026 on 29 September in Manila will bring together marketers to tackle the opportunities and challenges shaping the next phase of digital transformation.

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