Gaming platform Roblox is evaluating the establishment of a local data center in the Philippines. The potential infrastructure investment emerged during ongoing regulatory discussions between company executives and the Philippine government regarding platform safety and local compliance, news out Bilyonaryo reported.
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda disclosed the development during an April 13 appearance on the Bilyonaryo News Channel. According to Aguda, Roblox is currently assessing the country’s physical infrastructure, including fiber optic connectivity and power supply availability, to determine the viability of the project.
“While we were talking, we also showed the President’s digital transformation plan for the Philippines… The fiber optic cable, the power availability,” Aguda said. “They’re studying to put their data center here.”
The DICT chief noted that localized servers would improve service delivery and support the growing digital ecosystem in the country. He also emphasized that a data center would signal a substantial, long-term commitment from the company.
“The problem with social media platforms is they do not build their offices here. They just set up a marketing arm,” Aguda pointed out.
Regulatory Context and Safety Safeguards
The dialogue regarding digital infrastructure is a direct offshoot of high-level meetings initially convened to address severe regulatory warnings.
Earlier this month, the DICT and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) threatened a nationwide blockade of Roblox following mounting parental complaints and reports of child sexual exploitation and grooming within the game. The government issued an initial ultimatum, setting an April 10 deadline for the platform to comply with local safety demands.
The impending ban was temporarily deferred after Roblox executives flew into the country and agreed to implement comprehensive “safety-by-design” measures. As previously reported, these overhauls include the default disabling of in-game chat and financial payments, as well as the complete removal of chat access for children aged nine and below.
Furthermore, the government has mandated that Roblox establish a physical local office to maintain a direct line of communication with Philippine law enforcement. Regulators and the company are also currently discussing the technical integration of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) to enforce stricter, database-backed age ve rification for Filipino users. (Read More: Roblox Ban in the Philippines ‘Not Yet Off the Table’ Pending Compliance, Regulators Clarify)
Aguda stated that the potential data center investment remains under formal study by the company as discussions regarding the safety compliance roadmap continue.
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This article is published on BitPinas: DICT: Roblox Considers Philippine Data Center Amid Ongoing Child Safety Talks
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