Meta, Roblox, Reddit, Discord may be violating children’s privacy

National Privacy Commission issues show cause orders over possible non-compliance.

Leading social media platforms may be guilty of violating children’s digital privacy after the National Privacy Commission issued show cause orders for possible non-compliance.

The NPC sent show cause orders to Meta, Roblox, Reddit, and Discord for “non-compliance with applicable registration requirements.”

The agency did not specify the violations, only that these actions were related to children’s online safety. The NPC cited the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and NPC Circular 16-03, which sets out protocols for personal data breaches.

The measures cited make no specific mention of the handling of minors’ data relating to registration requirements. The Data Privacy Act only requires personal information controllers or processors who access sensitive personal information from 1,000 or more individuals to register their personal information processing system with the NPC. In cases of data breaches involving minors, as outlined in NPC Circular 16-03, children must be notified of the breach through their legal adult representatives.

The development comes amid continued government inquiries into children’s safety online following increasing reports of school gun violence.

On September 22, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center gave Reddit and Discord a 24-hour deadline to establish Philippine offices or face bans in the country.

The NPC called on digital platforms, government agencies, parents, and educational institutions to uphold children’s privacy in the online space. “Protecting young people in the digital environment is a shared responsibility,” the agency said in a statement.

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