Roblox warned: Fix child safety issues or face PH ban

A photo shows the logo of Roblox during the Gamescom video games trade fair at the Trade Fair Center in Cologne, western Germany, on the first day of the fair on August 20, 2025. Ina Fassbender/Agence France-Presse 

MANILA — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Tuesday warned that Roblox could face suspension or a ban in the Philippines if it fails to directly engage with government regulators and address mounting child safety concerns linked to the platform.

The warning came after a multi-stakeholder consultation led by the DICT and CICC, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to strengthen protections for Filipino children online. The meeting brought together officials, child welfare advocates, law enforcement, parents’ groups, digital rights advocates, and members of the local Roblox developer community.

At the center of the government’s concern is not simply gaming behavior, officials said, but the broader risks children may face when interactions on the platform escalate into harmful private exchanges, exposure to violent content, online grooming, or other dangerous behavior.

Police Brigadier General Wilson Asueta of the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group said authorities have already encountered actual cases involving children whose activity on Roblox later spilled into more dangerous channels.

“We have a few reports. These children involved in playing with this Roblox. But to the extent of impact, well, there are cases that we conducted risky operations because of their exposure to this game. And of course, by transferring to another chat group because of their friendship in the game, so ito ang nagkaroon ng problema. So mayroong mind conditioning and indoctrination sa mga bagay-bagay na it involves violence,” Asueta said.

This emphasizes how harmful interactions can begin in a game environment and later migrate to private messaging or off-platform spaces where detection becomes much harder.

That risk, child welfare officials said, could become much harder to contain because of the sheer number of Filipino minors already online.

Philippines threatens Roblox ban for harboring pedophiles, drug dealers

A representative of the Council for the Welfare of Children described the issue as a looming crisis, citing data showing how deeply internet use is already embedded in children’s daily lives.

“Based on the disrupting harm survey on online sexual abuse, 2022 pa ito, 95% ng mga batang Pinoy from 12 to 17 years old ay nasa internet na. So, kung ang isang platform, gaming platform man, kasama na ang Roblox, hindi safe, it's really harmful or it's really dangerous to our children. It's a ticking time bomb. So kailangan natin itong bantayan,” Undersecretary Angelo Tapales said, the executive director of the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC).

Officials also said this is precisely why they want Roblox to strengthen its internal safeguards and improve reporting to Philippine authorities.

Among the measures discussed were context-based filtering tools that could detect suspicious attempts to move minors from Roblox to other apps, more effective age-based restrictions, and stronger intelligence-sharing when users in the Philippines display potentially predatory behavior.

GOVERNMENT WANTS ROBLOX PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN PH

Officials said the government expects Roblox representatives to engage directly with Philippine authorities, especially as the state seeks faster coordination in responding to threats involving minors.

CICC Executive Director Usec. Renato “Aboy” Paraiso said having Roblox physically show up is “non-negotiable,” not just because of potential revenue and taxation questions, but more importantly because of law enforcement and child protection needs.

“It's important for them, non-negotiable, at least for the part of the CICC, kailangan nandito sila. For many purposes, maybe for tax purposes, pero ano na ‘yan, secondary sa amin yan,” Paraiso said.

“Pero importante na nandito sila, una for the reporting mechanism, for us to effectively regulate and then, more importantly for the CICC, so we can talk to them and uncover and unmask iyong mga threat actors na namamalagi doon sa platform nila,” he added.

Authorities said direct coordination is crucial because predators and other threat actors often exploit online anonymity and move conversations away from public or moderated spaces.

Patrol ng Pilipino: ‘Roblox’ ipagbabawal na sa Pilipinas?

APRIL 7 MEETING SEEN AS CRITICAL

Government officials said Roblox’s immediate future in the Philippines may hinge on its response in the coming days, ahead of an expected April 7 meeting and possible enforcement action by April 10.

Asked what would happen if Roblox fails to appear or refuses to cooperate, officials said the platform’s fate would ultimately depend on its own actions.

“Actually, kung ma-move or masu-suspend or talagang ili-lift natin iyong execution ng ban nila on April 10 is totally dependent on the actions of Roblox. Sila ho ang may kontrol doon sa kapalaran nila dito sa Pilipinas,” Paraiso explained.

Some parents support CICC plan to ban Roblox in PH

Speakers at the briefing also stressed that existing Philippine laws already provide legal pathways for action in child safety and cybercrime cases, including circumstances where privacy protections may be overridden if a crime has been committed.

They acknowledged that regulating a global platform like Roblox is legally and technically complex, but said that complexity should not be used as a reason for inaction.

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