Gorebox developer 'voluntarily' agreed to game block in Philippines — DICT
MANILA, Philippines — The developer of the online game Gorebox linked to the Tacloban school shooting incident in June voluntarily agreed to have the platform blocked in the Philippines, according to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda confirmed on Wednesday, August 26 that the game has been officially blocked and banned across the country after the government and the developer reached a mutual agreement.
Aguda told dzBB in an interview that the Gorebox developer was afforded due process as the DICT formally reached out to present notices and evidence before imposing the ban.
The developer was also asked to present its plans to prevent the harmful effects to the game, but declined to comply, according to the DICT chief.
“Eh hindi sila makapagresponde, kaya sila mismo, voluntarily sabi ‘sige pwede n’yo na kaming tanggalin, p’wede n’yo na kaming i-block,” Aguda said. “Mutually agreed ‘yon, hindi unilateral.”
(Since they cannot respond, they voluntarily said, ‘you can remove us, you can block us. That’s mutually agreed, not unilateral.)
In June, a temporary block against the platform was imposed after authorities found that one of the suspects in the Tacloban school shooting, who is a minor, regularly played Gorebox.
Authorities have not said, however, that the game caused the attack.
The German developer of the game was also invited to participate in a Senate hearing regarding the incident, but declined.
Conditions for Roblox
Meanwhile, Aguda said the coordination between the Philippine government and the management of a different gaming platform Roblox remains ongoing as the game continues to undertake steps to keep the game accessible, but safe for children in the Philippines.
The Department of Interior and Local Government had previously revealed plans to ban Roblox after authorities found that the minor suspect in the recent Zamboanga school shooting regularly engaged with the game.
Earlier this year, the government warned that Roblox may be banned in the Philippines following reports of child safety concerns. The executives of the game, however, cooperated with authorities and laid out commitments to make the platform safer.
Aguda said Roblox executives have already fulfilled three out of their five commitments, which included putting default parental controls in the game, monitoring violent tendencies in chats and classifying the game depending on the age of players.
The remaining unfulfilled commitments, meanwhile, are to connect the Roblox systems to the National ID system in the country to verify the age of players, and to establish their local office in the Philippines.
Aguda said they are about to meet again with the game executives by Thursday, August 27 to follow up on the remaining requests.
“Kapag sumunod edi okay, mas magagamit si Roblox sa tamang pamamaraan. Kapag hindi sila sumunod at hindi maganda ang usapan edi we will make the necessary recommendations,” Aguda said.
(If they comply, then the Roblox will be used in proper ways. If they did not comply, and the negotiation was not good, then we will make the necessary recommendations.)
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