Meta, Roblox agree to child-safety measures sought by Philippines, minister says

Meta and gaming platform Roblox have agreed to strengthen child-safety protections for Philippine users, Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda said on ‌Thursday.

The measures include age-verification, parental controls, faster takedowns of harmful content and closer cooperation with law enforcement, he said. The commitments were made during meetings between Philippine officials and executives of Meta and Roblox in Singapore, Aguda told Reuters.

Meta and Roblox did not immediately respond ‌to a request for comment. AGREEMENT COMES A DAY AFTER US SETTLEMENT

The agreement came a day after Meta agreed ‌to pay up to $18 billion over the next decade and impose new safeguards for teenage users in the United States, including usage limits, parental controls and stronger age-assurance measures, to settle claims by U.S. states that its platforms harmed children. Ahead of the talks, Aguda said the U.S. settlement would "boost" discussions ⁠with Meta ​on child safety and platform accountability.

"Both ⁠agreed to the safety protocols that we requested," including locating their office in the Philippines, providing age verification, cooperating with law enforcement, faster takedown of content, ⁠Aguda said in a phone interview after the meetings. Roblox is aiming to establish a Philippine office as early as October, Aguda said, while ​Meta would send a team to Manila to discuss a timeline for expanding its presence.

LAWMAKERS CONSIDER FURTHER MEASURES ⁠TO PROTECT MINORS ONLINE The talks come as Philippine lawmakers consider measures to tighten protections for minors online, including proposals that would restrict or ban children's access ⁠to ​social media.

Calls for stronger regulation intensified after a fatal shooting at a university in the southern Philippines last week, with officials saying a student livestreamed the attack, and following a separate incident of school violence in June. Philippine officials have ⁠increasingly linked concerns over youth safety, online harms and social media platforms to the broader debate over regulation of minors' access ⁠to digital services.

Aguda said Meta and ⁠Roblox also agreed to engage with legislators as Congress considers online safety measures. Asked whether the companies were open to a potential social media ban for minors, Aguda said they have ‌indicated they would cooperate ‌with whatever policy Philippine lawmakers ultimately adopt.