MANILA — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said banning Telegram in the Philippines is no longer being considered following an agreement with the messaging platform and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).

In a Facebook post, the DICT said the accord was reached after a meeting with Telegram representatives Ronak Singh and Abhimanyu Yadav, aimed at promoting a safer digital space.

The agreement includes a 24/7 helpdesk for immediate action on reported illegal content, monthly reporting of takedowns and other metrics to the DICT via CICC, and zero tolerance for online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC), illegal gambling, and other abusive activities.

Earlier this week, the DICT had floated the possibility of banning Telegram due to persistent violations on its platform. Telegram, a cloud-based encrypted messaging service founded in 2013 by Pavel Durov, is known for privacy features but has occasionally been used for illegal activities, including scams and child exploitation.