Brazil sues discord for $97M over child safety failures and lack of protection

Recently, Brazilian government has filed a federal lawsuit against the chat platform Discord, seeking 500 million reais approx. $97 million in damages over allegations that the platform failed to protect children and teenagers.

The legal action follows intense public scrutiny after a high-profile teen suicide in July linked to the platform, which led to the arrest of five teenagers and sparked broader calls from officials, including Brazil's first lady to crack down on or temporarily ban the service.

Brazil's Solicitor-General’s office outlines severe gaps in Discord's age-verification systems, content moderation, parental controls, and user safety protections, accusing the company of causing collective psychological harm and violating national child protection statutes.

The civil collective lawsuit demands that Discord overhaul its safety features, deploy automated tools to detect dangerous content, and improve law enforcement cooperation, backed by daily fines of 500,000 reais ($97,099) for non-compliance.

Escalating the crackdown, the lawsuit builds on earlier moves by Brazilian authorities, including a directive by the country's data protection authority (ANPD) ordering Discord to suspend its livestreaming ("Go Live") features over safety failures.

In many cases, plaintiffs have argued that social media companies have prioritized user engagement and profit over health and safety concerns.

Critics say that tech giants have been slow to implement protective measures, despite evidence linking excessive social media use to mental health issues among young people.

In response, the tech companies, however, have countered that they should not be held responsible for all the content published on their platforms, nor for how users interact with the software.

A s reported, the $97m lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, comes after what the Brazilian government describes as failed negotiations with the company.

The lawsuit is the latest instance of Brazil taking aggressive steps to rein in tech giants over child safety issues online.