Meta and Roblox agree to strengthen child safety measures in the Philippines
- The measures include age verification, parental controls and faster takedowns of harmful content.
- Meta will send a team to Manila to discuss expanding its presence in the country.
- Philippine lawmakers are considering further measures to restrict minors’ access to social media.
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Meta and Roblox have agreed to strengthen child-safety protections for users in the Philippines following meetings between Philippine officials and company executives in Singapore.
As reported by Reuters, the measures include age verification, parental controls, faster takedowns of harmful content and closer cooperation with law enforcement.
As part of the commitments, Roblox is aiming to establish an office in the Philippines as early as October, while Meta will send a team to Manila to discuss a timeline for expanding its presence in the country.
Local presence
The agreement shortly after Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion over the next decade and introduce additional safeguards for teenage users in the US to settle claims by US states that its platforms harmed children.
Philippine lawmakers are also considering further measures to protect minors online, including proposals that could restrict or ban children’s access to social media.
Aguda said Meta and Roblox agreed to engage with legislators as Congress considers online safety measures. When asked about a potential social media ban for minors, he said both companies had indicated they would cooperate with whatever policies lawmakers ultimately adopt.
Earlier this month, Roblox also revealed plans to open its regional headquarters in the Middle East to support Saudi Arabia’s creator ecosystem and its ambitions to become a global gaming hub.
