On September 10, the Brazilian government formally filed a lawsuit against the online chat platform Discord, accusing the company of failing to implement adequate safeguards for children and teenagers using the service. The lawsuit seeks $97 million in collective moral damages.
According to a statement from the Brazilian government, the case aims to force Discord to adopt effective measures to protect children, adolescents, and women in the digital environment. The government said that previous negotiations with the company had failed, and that the platform continued to show flaws in its age-verification mechanisms and user protection practices.
Discord has denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit overly harsh and inaccurate regarding its compliance with Brazilian law. The company stated it had cooperated with authorities and taken corrective steps following a serious incident in July.
The case stems from an incident on July 22, when a 13-year-old girl in the western state of Mato Grosso do Sul died by suicide during a live stream after being pressured by a group of peers. According to Brazil's Justice Ministry, the group initially pressured the girl to kill an animal, then escalated to urging her to take her own life when she refused. Four teenagers and one adult were arrested in connection with the case.
Shortly after, Brazil's National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) ordered Discord to suspend its live-streaming services starting August 12. First Lady Rosangela Lula da Silva also called for the platform to be removed from the Brazilian market.
Discord, which has about 90 million daily active users, said it would discontinue live-streaming and take steps to make the platform safer for young users. However, the Brazilian government deemed these measures insufficient and proceeded with the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of aggressive actions by Brazil to tighten oversight of tech giants regarding child safety online. Earlier, ANPD fined TikTok $30 million for violating children's data privacy, reflecting a trend toward stricter enforcement against digital platforms.
