After Malacañang said it was open to banning social media platforms and gaming applications, including Facebook, that are deemed potentially harmful to the youth, it said Facebook has been responding quickly to requests to take down harmful contents and fake news.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said she mentioned the possibility of banning platforms in the country after the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said it was considering recommendations to ban Facebook.

However, two days later they were informed that Facebook has been promptly responding to requests regarding fake news items in its platform.

"Noong Martes po ay nasabi po natin dahil ito din po ang nakita ng CICC at ng DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology). Ngunit makalipas ng dalawang araw ay binigyan po tayo ng impormasyon na ang Facebook, particular ang Facebook, ay tumutugon naman daw po sa mga dapat na gawin especially sa mabilisang pag-takedown ng mga fake news (On Tuesday, we said this because it was also what the CICC and DICT had observed. However, two days later, we were given information that Facebook, in particular, has been responding to requests and taking the necessary action, especially when it comes to the rapid takedown of fake news)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Thursday, Aug. 27.

"So, ito po ang nais natin din nating ipahiwatig sa ating na hindi po nakikitaan sa ngayon ang Facebook na mahirap na kausapin (So, this is what we also want to convey: at present, Facebook is not being seen as difficult to engage with or communicate with)," Castro added.

The Palace official also noted that just because some other social media platforms are not responding does not mean that all of them should be banned.

"That is not what the President or our administration intends," she said.

But, according to Castro, this also serves as a warning to other violators, "particularly gaming applications that can affect young people and potentially make them more aggressive and violent."

"So, iyon lang po ang ating gustong ipahatid dahil kung open man ang Pangulo, sa ngayon ang pinakahuling impormasyon, wala namang masyadong nagiging problema ang ating pamahalaan sa Facebook (That is all we want to convey. While the President is open to the possibility of a ban, based on the latest information, our government is not experiencing significant problems with Facebook at present)," Castro said.

The Palace spokesperson also clarified that Facebook is not being banned, and that all recommendations are being studied.

"So, ang huling impormasyong ibinigay po sa atin ay may mga pagkakataon na kapag kinakailangang i-takedown ang isang post na nagpapakita ng karahasan, fake news ay tumutugon naman ang Facebook (So, the latest information given to us is that there are instances when Facebook responds to requests to take down posts showing violence or spreading fake news," Castro said.

She added that it is a good sign "because we are also asking all social media platforms to work with the government to help prevent harmful content, misinformation, and excessively violent material from continuing to spread."