Meta and gaming platform Roblox have agreed to strengthen child protection measures in the Philippines, Philippine ICT Secretary Henry Aguda said Thursday.
The measures include age verification, parental control tools, accelerating the removal of harmful content, and enhancing cooperation with law enforcement agencies, according to the minister.
These commitments came during meetings between Filipino officials and executives from Meta and Roblox in Singapore, according to Aguda.
The agreement comes a day after Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion over the next decade, and impose new protections for teenage users in the United States, including limits on usage, parental controls, and stronger age verification measures; To settle lawsuits filed by American states accusing its platforms of harming children.
Ahead of the talks, Aguda said the US settlement would advance discussions with Meta on children’s safety and platform accountability.
“Both parties agreed to the safety protocols we requested,” Agoda said after the meetings, including having an office in the Philippines, verifying the ages of users, cooperating with law enforcement, and accelerating the removal of content.
He added that Roblox aims to establish an office in the Philippines as soon as possible by October, while Meta will send a team to Manila to discuss a timeline for expanding its presence in the country.
