Roblox, Meta pledge stronger child protection in Philippines

Philippine officials and executives from Roblox and Meta agreed on reinforced child-safety measures, including robust age verification, tighter messaging controls for minors, and closer cooperation with law enforcement. Roblox committed to integrating the Philippine National Identification System into its verification process, implementing AI-driven age checks, and designating a Philippine office and liaison to coordinate with authorities, with stricter safeguards to ensure chats stay within appropriate age groups. Meta pledged to deepen collaboration on protecting children online, establish a Philippine presence, and form a technical working group to improve response times to harmful content, while maintaining zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material. Both companies also agreed to accelerate takedowns of harmful content, support investigations, and promote digital literacy to counter disinformation among Filipino users. The push for stronger protections follows a U.S. settlement with Meta and ongoing debates in the Philippines about tightening online safety laws and parental controls. Officials stressed that these agreements are a starting point that must translate into concrete, timely action to prevent real-world harm to youths.