Reddit received 12 Philippine removal requests covering 74 posts and removed none

Reddit, in its latest transparency report sheds new light on how Philippine authorities have been asking the platform to deal with content involving politicians and public figures. The platform has received 12 removal requests from Philippine law enforcement agencies covering 74 pieces of content allegedly defamatory of politicians and public figures during the second half of 2025.

The disclosure comes as the Philippine government pushes Reddit and Discord to establish a local presence or potentially face restrictions, putting renewed attention on how online platforms handle government requests involving content.

Why it Matters: The Reddit disclosure is notable because the reported content was not identified as involving child safety, terrorism, or other immediate safety threats. According to Reddit, the requests concerned criticism of public figures, claims about their alleged involvement in corruption, and general commentary on newsworthy events.

In other words, the NBI and PNP made 12 requests asking Reddit to take action against a total of 74 pieces of content. Those requests did not automatically result in removals.

After reviewing the material, Reddit determined that none of the 74 pieces violated its Reddit Rules and consequently removed none of them.

The distinction is important: a removal request is an action initiated by a government agency, while a removal is an action actually taken by Reddit.

The details: Reddit’s Transparency Report covering July to December 2025 recorded 12 removal requests from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Those 12 requests covered 74 pieces of content reported for alleged defamation involving politicians and other public figures.

Reddit reviewed the reported material and determined that none violated its platform rules. The company specifically described the content as including criticism of public figures, claims of their involvement in corruption, and commentary on newsworthy events.

As a result, Reddit did not remove any of the 74 reported pieces of content.

The report does not determine whether the allegations contained in the posts were true or false. It records that the content was reported to Reddit and that Reddit, after reviewing it under its own rules, found no violation warranting removal.

Reddit received 169 government and law-enforcement removal requests from 28 countries during the same reporting period. The Philippines accounted for 13 requests overall, with the 12 requests from the NBI and PNP covering the 74 pieces of content described above.

The bigger picture: The disclosure comes as the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has taken a stronger position toward Reddit and Discord.

On September 21, 2026, the CICC sent separate letters to the two platforms directing them to establish a Philippine presence and designate a resident agent or local representative who can coordinate with Philippine authorities. The platforms were given 24 hours from receipt of the letters to comply.

The CICC has said the move is intended to improve coordination over online threats, particularly those involving children and violent or extremist activity.

The agency’s position followed the September 18 shooting at Banga National High School in South Cotabato, which authorities have linked to concerns about online activity and violent ideologies.

The CICC has said it is not asking platforms to police the internet on behalf of the government. Instead, it wants platforms to be accessible to Philippine authorities when incidents involving safety and security require coordination.

Between the lines: This is where Reddit’s transparency report becomes relevant to the broader discussion.

The 74 pieces of content reported by the NBI and PNP were not identified by Reddit as child-safety material, terrorist content, or imminent threats to public safety. They involved alleged defamation of politicians and public figures, including criticism, corruption-related claims and discussion of newsworthy events.

That makes the issue different from the safety concerns cited by the CICC today.

Protecting children from exploitation, preventing violent extremist activity and responding to genuine threats are matters of online safety. Government requests concerning criticism of politicians or allegations involving public officials raise a separate question about censorship and the limits of government involvement in political speech.

Reddit’s report does not establish that the Philippine government is currently attempting to censor the platform. Nor does it establish the motives behind the 12 requests made by the NBI and PNP. What it does establish is that Philippine law enforcement agencies previously asked Reddit to remove specific content involving politicians and public figures, and that Reddit declined those requests after determining that the reported material did not violate its rules.

That distinction is important as the government seeks greater access to online platforms. A local representative could make it easier for Philippine authorities to communicate with Reddit about legitimate law-enforcement and safety concerns. At the same time, it could also create a more direct channel for future government requests involving online content.

The question is therefore not simply whether platforms should cooperate with authorities. It is also where the line should be drawn between legitimate enforcement and government pressure over lawful political criticism.

For Filipinos: Political criticism, allegations of corruption and discussion of government affairs are part of public discourse. Such content can still be subject to Philippine laws, including laws concerning defamation, but a complaint or government request does not automatically mean that content violates a platform’s rules.

In Reddit’s case, the platform concluded that all 74 pieces of content reported through the 12 NBI and PNP requests fell outside the scope of its rules for removal.

This makes the distinction between safety and censorship particularly important.

Online safety measures are intended to address harmful conduct and protect users from threats. Content-removal requests involving criticism of politicians and public officials can affect political discussion and the public’s ability to scrutinize people in positions of power.

The two issues should not automatically be treated as the same.

The government’s current demand for local representation is officially tied to safety, accountability, and cooperation. But Reddit’s transparency data shows that government-platform interactions can also involve political speech and criticism of public figures.

What’s next: Reddit and Discord now face the CICC’s demand to establish a local presence or potentially face restrictions in the Philippines.

At the same time, the National Privacy Commission has separately issued show-cause orders to Reddit, Discord, Meta and Roblox concerning compliance with registration requirements under the Data Privacy Act.

For Reddit, the coming months could therefore involve several separate areas of engagement with Philippine authorities: data privacy, online safety, law enforcement requests and content moderation.

How these interactions develop could determine how government agencies and platforms handle future requests involving content available to Filipino users.

The Bottom Line: Reddit’s July-to-December 2025 transparency report shows that the NBI and PNP made 12 removal requests covering 74 pieces of content over alleged defamation of politicians and public figures. Reddit removed none of the 74 pieces, saying the material did not violate its rules and involved criticism of public figures, corruption-related claims, and commentary on newsworthy events.

The disclosure is significant in light of the CICC’s current push for Reddit and Discord to establish local operations. While the government’s stated justification centers on online safety and cooperation, the earlier Reddit requests show that government-platform relations can also involve political criticism and public-interest speech.

The distinction matters: online safety and censorship are not the same issue. A government request to review or remove content is not itself a removal, and any framework designed to improve cooperation with platforms also needs to account for legitimate criticism, political discussion, and public-interest speech.