[Video Interview] CICC Details Conditions for Roblox as Ban Deadline Extended

In a chance interview with BitPinas, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Executive Director, Undersecretary Renato “Aboy” Paraiso, laid out the government’s non-negotiable conditions for Roblox to avert an impending nationwide ban: fix the platform’s systemic safety flaws and establish a physical office in the Philippines.

Key Details

The exclusive details of the government’s demands come just as the CICC officially deferred its ultimatum, moving the threat of a nationwide blockade from April 3 to April 10, 2026.

The one-week extension was granted following formal correspondence from Roblox Corporation to DICT Secretary Henry Aguda and Usec. Paraiso. The tech giant expressed a commitment to discuss safety reforms and guaranteed full cooperation, with representatives scheduled to fly in for high-level meetings with Philippine authorities on April 7, 8, and 9.

However, the CICC made it clear to BitPinas that a simple dialogue will not suffice.

“We cannot allow them to dictate the terms on the safety and the well-being of our children here in the Philippines,” Paraiso firmly stated during the interview. “If they do not answer the call of the government through the DICT and the CICC, we have no choice but to ban them.”

CICC to Roblox: Set Up a Local Office

Because the CICC has already preemptively dismissed Roblox’s current safety measures as “insufficient,” the government is demanding structural changes.

When asked directly by BitPinas what Roblox must do to avoid the ban, Paraiso was blunt: “Come here… to the Philippines. Set up [an] office here.”

He immediately followed this demand by stating the need for direct coordination: “…let us try to work together and make sure that your platform is safe for our Filipino children,” Paraiso added.

The undersecretary reiterated this hardline stance ahead of the upcoming April 7-9 meetings, warning Roblox executives not to expect a “business-as-usual” negotiation.

“Even before you come here, I would tell you now that your safeguards and your guarantees are insufficient to protect our Filipino children,” Paraiso said in a statement. “So if you’re coming here to convince us to agree to your policies and guidelines, it’s a waste of effort. You come here to have a dialogue with the Philippine government, through the DICT and the CICC, to reform your platform and to safeguard our Filipino children.”

The ‘Issues’ of Roblox: Failed KYC and Illicit Activities

During the exclusive interview, Paraiso detailed the specific violations driving the state’s aggressive regulatory action, pointing to glaring holes in the platform’s security and age verification systems.

He revealed that tech partners and experts who examined Roblox found its Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols to be “really, really wanting.” To illustrate the severity of this flaw, the undersecretary cited an experiment conducted by tech journalist Art Samaniego. According to Paraiso, Samaniego created a profile registering as a 7-year-old child and was still readily able to bypass restrictions and access mature content on the platform.

But the government’s concerns go far beyond exposure to inappropriate games. Paraiso highlighted the darker reality of the platform’s in-game communication features, warning that Roblox’s messaging capabilities are actively being exploited to facilitate Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC). He explicitly noted the platform is being used for arms dealing, drug transactions, child pornography, and child abuse recruitment.

Telcos Are Ready to Pull the Plug

If Roblox fails to demonstrate “verifiable effectiveness” of its proposed safety modifications by the April 10 deadline, the technical infrastructure to implement a nationwide ban is already in place.

Addressing the technical feasibility of banning an application installed on millions of personal devices, Paraiso confirmed to BitPinas that the CICC is working directly with telecommunications providers. Because Roblox relies heavily on web-based connectivity, the government intends to work directly with telcos to effectively cut off access and “ban even the application” at the network level.

This move has been explicitly backed by telecommunications giant Globe Telecom, which formally affirmed that it is ready to implement a network-wide block across both its wired and wireless services to prohibit users from accessing the gaming platform.

The CICC confirmed that Roblox remains under strict observation, urging parents to remain vigilant. The ball is now squarely in Roblox Corporation’s court: commit to massive safety overhauls and local operations during the April meetings, or face a total shutdown in the Philippines next week.

Disclosure: AI has been used to help develop this article.

This article is published on BitPinas: [Exclusive] CICC to Roblox: Fix Safety Flaws, Set Up PH Office as Ban Deadline Extends to April 10

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