Meta and gaming platform Roblox have agreed to strengthen protections for children and teenagers in the Philippines following talks with government officials, the country’s information and communications technology secretary said on Thursday.
The measures include age verification, parental controls, faster removal of harmful content and closer cooperation with law enforcement, Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda said, Reuters reported.
The commitments were made during meetings between Philippine officials and executives from Meta and Roblox in Singapore.
Aguda said the companies also agreed to establish a stronger presence in the Philippines. Roblox is expected to open an office in the country as early as October, while Meta will send a team to Manila to discuss a timeline for expanding its local operations.
The agreement comes just one day after Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion over the next decade and introduce additional safeguards for teenage users in the United States as part of a settlement with US states that accused its platforms of harming children.
Those US measures include usage limits, parental controls and stronger age-assurance systems.
Aguda said the US settlement helped strengthen discussions with Meta over child safety and accountability in the Philippines.
The talks come as Philippine lawmakers consider tougher measures to protect minors online, including proposals that could restrict or ban children’s access to social media platforms.
Pressure for tighter regulation has intensified following several incidents involving violence and online platforms. Last week, officials said a student livestreamed a fatal shooting at a university in the southern Philippines. A separate school shooting in June also raised concerns over youth safety.
Philippine authorities have increasingly connected concerns about online harms affecting young people with the broader debate over regulating minors’ access to digital services.
Aguda said Meta and Roblox had also agreed to engage with lawmakers as Congress considers new online safety legislation.
Asked whether the companies would cooperate with a possible ban on social media use by minors, Aguda said both had indicated they would comply with whatever policy lawmakers ultimately adopt.
The latest commitments could put additional pressure on technology companies to introduce stronger safeguards for young users as governments around the world consider stricter rules for children’s access to social media and online gaming platforms.
