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Brazil Sues Discord for $97 Million in Collective Moral Damages - 27/08/2026 - Business - Folha
Negotiations between Discord and the federal government for the signing of a Conduct Adjustment Agreement have failed. The agreement sought to bring the platform's features into compliance with Brazilian regulations, end ongoing investigations and avoid further penalties. The Lula administration decided to sue the company and seek R$500 million ($97 million) in collective moral damages. The amount corresponds to R$50 million for each of the ten violations that, according to the government, were identified, documented and included in the lawsuit. They include failures in age verification, the lack of mechanisms linking children and teenagers to their legal guardians, and the failure to report cases to the authorities. The negotiations involved the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General of the Union, without the participation of the National Data Protection Authority, which is continuing with its own proceedings. The proposals submitted by Discord were deemed insufficient to make an agreement possible. In a statement, the platform said the lawsuit was disproportionate and "does not accurately reflect Discord's approach to safety." Read the article in the original language News from Brazil Receive in your email inbox a summary of the day
Take-Two's First Subpoena On Discord Has Been Granted
Discord will soon decide if the subpoena raises red flags for privacy. Take-Two's hunt for the GTA 6 leakers has taken another step forward. Videotech shared this update on social media: Take-Two has been awarded an order to serve a subpoena to @Discord. This will include the DarkViperAU Discord server and three users listed in the original complaint. The subpoena does not apply to content creator DarkViperAU himself. It just so happened that Take-Two traced this person of suspicion to his server. You can read the order here. This is the 1 subpoena that Take-Two applied on Discord that raised privacy issues. The judge allowed Take-Two to collect information on a server with 107,000 users. As Discord marketing director Ryan K. Rigney said, the order wasn't served to Discord until now. We may find out from them if they decide the order has been restricted enough to drop those red flags regarding privacy. We just reported on a 2 GTA 6 Discord subpoena Take-Two is applying for. This one will be sealed and is targeting two specific users, who may be real leads to the GTA 6 leakers.
Congress risks paying for internal discord
The Congress government in Telangana is facing an avoidable political problem. Opposition criticism is part of democratic politics. More damaging, however, are controversies arising from within the ruling party, which inevitably provide its opponents with fresh ammunition. The latest episode involving Endowments Minister Konda Surekha has again brought this into focus. Her daughter publicly expressed displeasure after Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy reportedly promised the Parkal Assembly seat, which she had sought, to another leader. The controversy has acquired greater significance in the context of earlier episodes involving the minister and her family. Reports that the party's disciplinary committee has recommended action against Surekha indicate that the leadership views the matter seriously. Nor is this an isolated instance of internal differences spilling into the public domain. Chinna Reddy's allegation that Assembly tickets were sold for crores of rupees is another example. Whatever its immediate political context, such a charge inevitably has consequences beyond the local rivalry that may have prompted it. As the Congress government approaches its third year in office, these distractions come at an inopportune time. It is already facing criticism over issues such as the controversy surrounding Section 22A and the inclusion of private properties in the prohibited list. Internal discord can only add to its difficulties.
Brazil sues Discord over alleged shortcomings in youth safety policies and enforcement
Brazil's federal government on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Discord, Inc. accusing the messaging platform of violating national child protection laws. Brazil's attorney general's office, the Advocacia-Geral da Union (AGU) brought the lawsuit in the federal court seeking roughly R$500 million ($97 million) in damages. The AGU alleges violation of Brazilian laws regarding age verification systems, parental controls, and content moderation. The alleged violations point to Brazil's ECA Digital (ECA), a law enacted in 2025. The ECA amends Brazil's 1990 Statute of the Child and Adolescent law to apply protections to digital platforms. Under the law, digital platforms must apply stringent safety and privacy controls as their default, and must integrate safety mechanisms such as age verification and parental controls into the design of their platforms. The law is enforced through Brazil's data protection authority, the Autoridade Nacional de Protecao de Dados (ANPD). Under the ECA, violators may be fined R$50 million ($9.7 million) for each infraction. The AGU's complaint alleges ten separate violations of the law including insufficient age verification controls, lack of parental monitoring systems, and failure to moderate content. The lawsuit follows recent action from the ANPD wherein Discord was suspended from operation in Brazil over these same child safety concerns. Discord's suspension remains in effect independent of Wednesday's lawsuit, according to government officials. In a statement, AGU Minister Jorge Messias said: [translated from Portuguese] This platform has allowed illegal conduct to take place, based on what we call insufficient protection for women, children, adolescents [. . .] As many times as we identify this kind of practice, we will act to curb this type of unacceptable conduct throughout the national territory. This follows heightened global concerns about child safety and protections in an evolving digital landscape. In July, the European Commission TikTok failed to meet child-safety requirements under the Digital Services Act. Earlier this month, a bellwether US federal trial began wherein a coalition of states sought up to $1.4 trillion in penalties against Meta for youth safety violations.
Brazil sues online platform Discord over alleged failures in children protection
SAO PAULO -- Brazil's government said on Wednesday it filed a lawsuit in a federal court against Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, seeking damages of 500 million reais (about $97 million) for the company's alleged failure to protect children online. The move comes in the wake of a July suicide case linked to the platform. Earlier this month, Brazil's government pushed Discord to suspend its live broadcasts in relation to the incident. The Solicitor-General's office for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement the damages it is seeking from Discord are due to alleged collective psychological harm it has allowed. Discord in Brazil said in a statement that the move by the country's government is "disproportionate" and "does not accurately reflect Discord's approach to safety and compliance with Brazilian law." Brazil's government's 25-page long lawsuit, which was obtained by The Associated Press, says there are severe gaps in its age-verification systems and user safety protections. The company has committed "direct violations to a number of obligations and protective norms of Brazilian law, regarding the special protections and safety of vulnerable groups, including children and teenagers," Brazil's Solicitor-General's office said. The office is also asking the court to order Discord to immediately strengthen parental controls, expand cooperation with local law enforcement, and deploy automated tools to detect and remove dangerous content. The filing also notes that Discord faces similar legal pressure globally, including active lawsuits in U.S. states like Texas, Nevada and New Jersey. Lula, who is seeking reelection in October, and Brazil's Supreme Court have tried to regulate the use of the internet by minors, with mixed results so far, at a moment when countries, including Australia, Canada and Indonesia, are undertaking similar efforts. Brazil's first lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, said on Aug. 6 that the platform should be taken offline, citing the suicide case. Five teenagers were arrested in connection with the death, according to Brazil's justice ministry. Discord has more than 90 million active daily users worldwide, according to its website.
Brazil sues Discord for $97 million a day after fining TikTok $30 million - Cryptopolitan
Regulators are now reviewing 22 platforms for compliance with Brazil's new child protection rules, signaling a broader enforcement push. Brazil's government filed a civil collective moral damages lawsuit against Discord seeking 500 million reais, roughly $97 million, over what it says are failures to comply with laws protecting children and women, per Reuters. Solicitor General Jorge Messias announced the action Wednesday. It follows an order this month from the National Data Protection Authority requiring Discord to suspend livestreams and video calls in Brazil, issued after a 13-year-old girl died by suicide following a broadcast in which authorities say she was encouraged to harm herself. Discord filed an appeal against that suspension on Monday, which the agency told AFP is under review. Brazil is using the courts to go beyond the regulator's penalty cap The lawsuit exceeds what the regulator itself could impose. The data protection agency launched its probe in early August upon recommendation by the Digital Rights Secretariat and gave Discord five days to show how it protects children and teenagers, with penalties of up to 50 million reais if it fails, MLex reports. It ordered the suspension on August 12 and Discord complied on August 17, saying it was seeking a solution that would let the features return. Going to court for ten times the administrative maximum is how the government reaches past its own regulator. TikTok was hit with a $30 million child-data fine the day before The Discord suit arrived into a week of enforcement. On Tuesday the authority fined TikTok 153.7 million reais, close to $30 million, for irregularities in processing the data of children and adolescents, and ordered ByteDance to delete data collected in breach of the rules, per AFP. The regulator estimated that the company might have processed data from as many as 8 million children and cited flaws in the process of age verification. TikTok has 10 days to appeal, and the company has said that it will be complying with new rules that include tougher default privacy settings for under-16s, increased parental controls, and enhanced content filtering. The company agreed last week to pay $400 million to settle a separate US Justice Department case over children's privacy. Twenty-two platforms are now under scrutiny as enforcement widens Agency director Lorena Giuberti Coutinho said proceedings began last week to check whether 22 social media networks and platforms comply with a child protection law Brazil passed this year, which requires accounts belonging to users under 16 to be linked to a parent's and obliges platforms to verify ages. I think we can expect much stronger enforcement action in the months ahead. - Lorena Giuberti Coutinho Brazil has moved against large platforms before. X was blocked for 40 days in 2024 until it complied with Supreme Court orders to remove accounts accused of spreading disinformation. Separately, the consumer rights group Collective Defense Institute is seeking 3 billion reais from the Brazilian units of TikTok, Kwai and Meta over minors' use of their services.
Brazil sues Discord for $100 mn in child safety case
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The Brazilian government on Wednesday said it was suing the Discord messaging platform for nearly $100 million in damages over its alleged failure to protect children from harmful content and demanded it adopt stronger safeguards. Brazil's National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) ordered Discord to suspend livestreams earlier this month after a 13-year-old girl was goaded into killing herself during a livestream. A government statement said the lawsuit filed Tuesday in the capital, Brasilia, was brought after failed negotiations with Discord, whose proposals were "deemed insufficient to eliminate the identified risks." "The lawsuit seeks to compel the Discord platform to adopt effective measures to protect children, adolescents, and women in the digital environment," said the statement. "It also requests that the company be ordered to pay R$ 500 million ($97 million) in compensation for collective moral damages." The messaging platform, with over 90 million active daily users, agreed to suspend livestreaming in Brazil on August 17, assuring it was working "to make Discord safer for teens." However, Brasilia said it "continues to exhibit flaws in its age verification and user protection mechanisms," exposing users to serious risks, such as those that resulted in the girl's death in July. Five teenagers and an adult have been arrested in connection with the suicide in a small town in central-western Brazil. Over 45 minutes, the teens allegedly encouraged the girl to kill an animal, and when she failed to do so, they encouraged her to kill herself, according to an official with the Justice Ministry's Ciberlab intelligence unit. One of the teens arrested was just 14. Brazil is demanding that Discord implement stricter parental controls, cooperate more closely with the authorities and implement systems capable of detecting and preventing situations that put minors at risk. In a statement sent to AFP, the platform expressed regret over the legal action and said it had "consistently and in good faith" maintained dialogue with the authorities. "We believe there is a better way and remain committed to working with the relevant authorities to reach a solution that strengthens safety on the platform while allowing Brazilians to continue using Discord," it stated. - 'Powerful signal' - Brazil has taken a tough stance against social media platforms, cracking down on disinformation and requiring users under 16 to link their accounts to those of their parents. On Tuesday, the ANPD fined TikTok nearly $30 million for failing to implement child safety measures in what it called a "powerful signal" to social media companies. ANPD director Lorena Giuberti Coutinho said the agency last week initiated proceedings to verify the compliance of 22 social media networks and platforms with a law passed this year to protect children and teens online. "I think we can expect much stronger enforcement action" in the coming months, she said. Brazil's Supreme Court has also locked horns with Big Tech, specifically Elon Musk's X, over online disinformation. Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes has been accused by the Brazilian and American right of censorship for, among other things, blocking access to X for 40 days in 2024.
Brazil sues Discord for $100 mn in child safety case
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The Brazilian government on Wednesday said it was suing the Discord messaging platform for nearly $100 million in damages over its alleged failure to protect children from harmful content and demanded it adopt stronger safeguards. Brazil's National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) ordered Discord to suspend livestreams earlier this month after a 13-year-old girl was goaded into killing herself during a livestream. A government statement said the lawsuit filed Tuesday in the capital, Brasilia, was brought after failed negotiations with Discord, whose proposals were "deemed insufficient to eliminate the identified risks." "The lawsuit seeks to compel the Discord platform to adopt effective measures to protect children, adolescents, and women in the digital environment," said the statement. "It also requests that the company be ordered to pay R$ 500 million ($97 million) in compensation for collective moral damages." The messaging platform, with over 90 million active daily users, agreed to suspend livestreaming in Brazil on August 17, assuring it was working "to make Discord safer for teens." However, Brasilia said it "continues to exhibit flaws in its age verification and user protection mechanisms," exposing users to serious risks, such as those that resulted in the girl's death in July. Five teenagers and an adult have been arrested in connection with the suicide in a small town in central-western Brazil. Over 45 minutes, the teens allegedly encouraged the girl to kill an animal, and when she failed to do so, they encouraged her to kill herself, according to an official with the Justice Ministry's Ciberlab intelligence unit. One of the teens arrested was just 14. Brazil is demanding that Discord implement stricter parental controls, cooperate more closely with the authorities and implement systems capable of detecting and preventing situations that put minors at risk. In a statement sent to AFP, the platform expressed regret over the legal action and said it had "consistently and in good faith" maintained dialogue with the authorities. "We believe there is a better way and remain committed to working with the relevant authorities to reach a solution that strengthens safety on the platform while allowing Brazilians to continue using Discord," it stated. - 'Powerful signal' - Brazil has taken a tough stance against social media platforms, cracking down on disinformation and requiring users under 16 to link their accounts to those of their parents. On Tuesday, the ANPD fined TikTok nearly $30 million for failing to implement child safety measures in what it called a "powerful signal" to social media companies. ANPD director Lorena Giuberti Coutinho said the agency last week initiated proceedings to verify the compliance of 22 social media networks and platforms with a law passed this year to protect children and teens online. "I think we can expect much stronger enforcement action" in the coming months, she said. Brazil's Supreme Court has also locked horns with Big Tech, specifically Elon Musk's X, over online disinformation. Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes has been accused by the Brazilian and American right of censorship for, among other things, blocking access to X for 40 days in 2024.
Brazil sues Discord for $97 million over alleged failures to protect children
BRASILIA, Aug 26 (Reuters) - The Brazilian government said on Wednesday it has sued chat platform Discord, seeking 500 million reais ($97 million) through a civil collective moral damages lawsuit as it accuses the firm of failing to comply with laws protecting children and teens. The lawsuit requests Discord to bring safety mechanisms, age-verification systems, parental supervision tools, content moderation practices and communication features into compliance, subject to a daily fine of 500,000 reais ($97,099). The lawsuit before a federal court comes after the country's data protection authority ANPD suspended Discord's livestreaming features earlier this month over child and teens safety concerns. In a statement, Discord said the lawsuit is disproportionate and does not accurately reflect the company's stance regarding safety and compliance with the Brazilian law. Discord added it has presented the office of Brazil's solicitor general with a proposal to improve the safety of its operations in the country through technical adjustments and a financial investment. The government's Solicitor General Jorge Messias told reporters that Discord did not move forward with an agreement with authorities, which would have required the platform to formally commit to bringing its operations into compliance with the law, he added. ($1 = 5.1494 reais) (Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia and Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; Editing by Chris Reese and Iñigo Alexander)
Brazil sues Discord for USD 97 million over child safety failures
Brazil's government said on Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit in a federal court against Discord, seeking 500 million reais, or about USD 97 million, in damages over the platform's alleged failure to protect children online. The case comes after a suicide in July that was linked to the platform, as authorities step up scrutiny of online safety for minors. The Solicitor-General's office for President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva said the damages are being sought over alleged collective psychological harm that Discord had allowed. In response, Discord in Brazil said the government's move is "disproportionate" and "does not accurately reflect Discord's approach to safety and compliance with Brazilian law." According to Brazil's 25-page lawsuit, obtained by The Associated Press, there are severe gaps in Discord's age-verification systems and user safety protections. The Solicitor-General's office said the company had committed "direct violations to a number of obligations and protective norms of Brazilian law, regarding the special protections and safety of vulnerable groups, including children and teenagers." The office has also asked the court to order Discord to immediately strengthen parental controls, expand cooperation with local law enforcement, and deploy automated tools to detect and remove dangerous content. Earlier this month, Brazil's government had also pushed Discord to suspend its live broadcasts in relation to the July suicide case. The filing said Discord is facing similar legal pressure in other parts of the world, including active lawsuits in US states such as Texas, Nevada and New Jersey. Lula, who is seeking re-election in October, and Brazil's Supreme Court have been trying to regulate internet use by minors, with mixed results so far, at a time when countries including Australia, Canada and Indonesia are pursuing similar efforts. Brazil's first lady Rosngela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, said on August 6 that the platform should be taken offline, citing the suicide case. According to Brazil's justice ministry, five teenagers were arrested in connection with the death. The lawsuit now seeks both damages and court-directed safety measures as Brazil presses Discord over child protection on its platform.
Brazil Sues Discord Over Child Safety Requirements
Brazil has taken Discord to court. The government announced Wednesday it's suing the chat platform for about $97 million, claiming Discord hasn't met Brazilian requirements for protecting children and teenagers, Reuters reports. In a civil lawsuit filed in federal court, authorities say the company must bring its safety tools, age checks, parental controls, content moderation, and communication features into line with local law or face a daily fine. The case follows a move earlier this month by Brazil's data protection authority to suspend Discord's livestreaming features over youth-safety concerns after a suicide.
Brazil sues Discord for $100 mn in child safety case; demands stronger safeguards
The Brazilian government on Wednesday said it was suing the Discord messaging platform for nearly $100 million in damages over its alleged failure to protect children from harmful content and demanded it adopt stronger safeguards. Brazil's National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) ordered Discord to suspend livestreams earlier this month after a 13-year-old girl was goaded into killing herself during a livestream. A government statement said the lawsuit filed Tuesday in the capital, Brasilia, was brought after failed negotiations with Discord, whose proposals were "deemed insufficient to eliminate the identified risks." "The lawsuit seeks to compel the Discord platform to adopt effective measures to protect children, adolescents, and women in the digital environment," said the statement. "It also requests that the company be ordered to pay R$ 500 million ($97 million) in compensation for collective moral damages." The messaging platform, with over 90 million active daily users, agreed to suspend livestreaming in Brazil on August 17, assuring it was working "to make Discord safer for teens." However, Brasilia said it "continues to exhibit flaws in its age verification and user protection mechanisms," exposing users to serious risks, such as those that resulted in the girl's death in July. Five teenagers and an adult have been arrested in connection with the suicide in a small town in central-western Brazil. Over 45 minutes, the teens allegedly encouraged the girl to kill an animal, and when she failed to do so, they encouraged her to kill herself, according to an official with the Justice Ministry's Ciberlab intelligence unit. One of the teens arrested was just 14. Brazil is demanding that Discord implement stricter parental controls, cooperate more closely with the authorities and implement systems capable of detecting and preventing situations that put minors at risk. In a statement sent to AFP, the platform expressed regret over the legal action and said it had "consistently and in good faith" maintained dialogue with the authorities. "We believe there is a better way and remain committed to working with the relevant authorities to reach a solution that strengthens safety on the platform while allowing Brazilians to continue using Discord," it stated. 'Powerful signal' Brazil has taken a tough stance against social media platforms, cracking down on disinformation and requiring users under 16 to link their accounts to those of their parents. On Tuesday, the ANPD fined TikTok nearly $30 million for failing to implement child safety measures in what it called a "powerful signal" to social media companies. ANPD director Lorena Giuberti Coutinho said the agency last week initiated proceedings to verify the compliance of 22 social media networks and platforms with a law passed this year to protect children and teens online. "I think we can expect much stronger enforcement action" in the coming months, she said. Brazil's Supreme Court has also locked horns with Big Tech, specifically Elon Musk's X, over online disinformation. Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes has been accused by the Brazilian and American right of censorship for, among other things, blocking access to X for 40 days in 2024.
Brazil sues online platform Discord over alleged failures in children protection
SAO PAULO -- Brazil's government said on Wednesday it filed a lawsuit in a federal court against Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, seeking damages of 500 million reais (about $97 million) for the company's alleged failure to protect children online. The move comes in the wake of a July suicide case linked to the platform. Earlier this month, Brazil's government pushed Discord to suspend its live broadcasts in relation to the incident. The Solicitor-General's office for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement the damages it is seeking from Discord are due to alleged collective psychological harm it has allowed. Discord in Brazil said in a statement that the move by the country's government is "disproportionate" and "does not accurately reflect Discord's approach to safety and compliance with Brazilian law." Brazil's government's 25-page long lawsuit, which was obtained by The Associated Press, says there are severe gaps in its age-verification systems and user safety protections. The company has committed "direct violations to a number of obligations and protective norms of Brazilian law, regarding the special protections and safety of vulnerable groups, including children and teenagers," Brazil's Solicitor-General's office said. The office is also asking the court to order Discord to immediately strengthen parental controls, expand cooperation with local law enforcement, and deploy automated tools to detect and remove dangerous content. The filing also notes that Discord faces similar legal pressure globally, including active lawsuits in U.S. states like Texas, Nevada and New Jersey. Lula, who is seeking reelection in October, and Brazil's Supreme Court have tried to regulate the use of the internet by minors, with mixed results so far, at a moment when countries, including Australia, Canada and Indonesia, are undertaking similar efforts. Brazil's first lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, said on Aug. 6 that the platform should be taken offline, citing the suicide case. Five teenagers were arrested in connection with the death, according to Brazil's justice ministry. Discord has more than 90 million active daily users worldwide, according to its website.
Brazil sues Discord, seeks hefty compensation over minors' protections | MLex | Specialist news and analysis on legal risk and regulation
By Henrique Santiago ( August 26, 2026, 22:09 GMT | Insight) -- The Brazilian Attorney General's Office filed a lawsuit against Discord after negotiations over a settlement agreement failed. The office wants the platform to adopt several safety measures and is seeking compensation for collective moral damages in the amount of 500 million reais, or nearly $100 million.The Brazilian government filed a public civil action Wednesday against Discord following unsuccessful negotiations over a settlement agreement with the platform aimed at strengthening protections for children and adolescents under the Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents, or ECA Digital.... Prepare for tomorrow's regulatory change, today MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term. Know what others in the room don't, with features including: * Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more * Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs * Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific * Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.
Brazil sues online platform Discord over alleged failures in children protection
SAO PAULO -- Brazil's government said on Wednesday it filed a lawsuit in a federal court against Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, seeking damages of 500 million reais (about $97 million) for the company's alleged failure to protect children online. The move comes in the wake of a July suicide case linked to the platform. Earlier this month, Brazil's government pushed Discord to suspend its live broadcasts in relation to the incident. The Solicitor-General's office for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement the damages it is seeking from Discord are due to alleged collective psychological harm it has allowed. Discord in Brazil said in a statement that the move by the country's government is "disproportionate" and "does not accurately reflect Discord's approach to safety and compliance with Brazilian law." Brazil's government's 25-page long lawsuit, which was obtained by The Associated Press, says there are severe gaps in its age-verification systems and user safety protections. The company has committed "direct violations to a number of obligations and protective norms of Brazilian law, regarding the special protections and safety of vulnerable groups, including children and teenagers," Brazil's Solicitor-General's office said. The office is also asking the court to order Discord to immediately strengthen parental controls, expand cooperation with local law enforcement, and deploy automated tools to detect and remove dangerous content. The filing also notes that Discord faces similar legal pressure globally, including active lawsuits in U.S. states like Texas, Nevada and New Jersey. Lula, who is seeking reelection in October, and Brazil's Supreme Court have tried to regulate the use of the internet by minors, with mixed results so far, at a moment when countries, including Australia, Canada and Indonesia, are undertaking similar efforts. Brazil's first lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, said on Aug. 6 that the platform should be taken offline, citing the suicide case. Five teenagers were arrested in connection with the death, according to Brazil's justice ministry. Discord has more than 90 million active daily users worldwide, according to its website.
Brazil sues online platform Discord over alleged failures in children protection - WTOP News
SAO PAULO (AP) -- Brazil's government said on Wednesday it filed a lawsuit in a federal court against Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, seeking damages of 500 million reais (about $97 million) for the company's alleged failure to protect children online. The move comes in the wake of a July suicide case linked to the platform. Earlier this month, Brazil's government pushed Discord to suspend its live broadcasts in relation to the incident. The Solicitor-General's office for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement the damages it is seeking from Discord are due to alleged collective psychological harm it has allowed. Discord in Brazil said in a statement that the move by the country's government is "disproportionate" and "does not accurately reflect Discord's approach to safety and compliance with Brazilian law." Brazil's government's 25-page long lawsuit, which was obtained by The Associated Press, says there are severe gaps in its age-verification systems and user safety protections. The company has committed "direct violations to a number of obligations and protective norms of Brazilian law, regarding the special protections and safety of vulnerable groups, including children and teenagers," Brazil's Solicitor-General's office said. The office is also asking the court to order Discord to immediately strengthen parental controls, expand cooperation with local law enforcement, and deploy automated tools to detect and remove dangerous content. The filing also notes that Discord faces similar legal pressure globally, including active lawsuits in U.S. states like Texas, Nevada and New Jersey. Lula, who is seeking reelection in October, and Brazil's Supreme Court have tried to regulate the use of the internet by minors, with mixed results so far, at a moment when countries, including Australia, Canada and Indonesia, are undertaking similar efforts. Brazil's first lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, said on Aug. 6 that the platform should be taken offline, citing the suicide case. Five teenagers were arrested in connection with the death, according to Brazil's justice ministry. Discord has more than 90 million active daily users worldwide, according to its website. ___ Follow AP's Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Brazil Sues Online Platform Discord Over Alleged Failures in Children Protection
SAO PAULO (AP) -- Brazil's government said on Wednesday it filed a lawsuit in a federal court against Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, seeking damages of 500 million reais (about $97 million) for the company's alleged failure to protect children online. The move comes in the wake of a July suicide case linked to the platform. Earlier this month, Brazil's government pushed Discord to suspend its live broadcasts in relation to the incident. The Solicitor-General's office for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement the damages it is seeking from Discord are due to alleged collective psychological harm it has allowed. Discord in Brazil said in a statement that the move by the country's government is "disproportionate" and "does not accurately reflect Discord's approach to safety and compliance with Brazilian law." Brazil's government's 25-page long lawsuit, which was obtained by The Associated Press, says there are severe gaps in its age-verification systems and user safety protections. The company has committed "direct violations to a number of obligations and protective norms of Brazilian law, regarding the special protections and safety of vulnerable groups, including children and teenagers," Brazil's Solicitor-General's office said. The office is also asking the court to order Discord to immediately strengthen parental controls, expand cooperation with local law enforcement, and deploy automated tools to detect and remove dangerous content. The filing also notes that Discord faces similar legal pressure globally, including active lawsuits in U.S. states like Texas, Nevada and New Jersey. Lula, who is seeking reelection in October, and Brazil's Supreme Court have tried to regulate the use of the internet by minors, with mixed results so far, at a moment when countries, including Australia, Canada and Indonesia, are undertaking similar efforts. Brazil's first lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, said on Aug. 6 that the platform should be taken offline, citing the suicide case. Five teenagers were arrested in connection with the death, according to Brazil's justice ministry. Discord has more than 90 million active daily users worldwide, according to its website. ___ Follow AP's Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Brazil sues online platform Discord over alleged failures in children protection
SAO PAULO -- Brazil's government said on Wednesday it filed a lawsuit in a federal court against Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, seeking damages of about $97 million for the company's alleged failure to protect children online. The move comes in the wake of a July suicide case linked to the platform. Earlier this month, Brazil's government pushed Discord to suspend its live broadcasts in relation to the incident. The Solicitor-General's office for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement the damages it is seeking from Discord are due to alleged collective psychological harm it has allowed. Discord in Brazil said in a statement that the move by the country's government is "disproportionate" and "does not accurately reflect Discord's approach to safety and compliance with Brazilian law." Brazil's government's 25-page-long lawsuit, which was obtained by The Associated Press, says there are severe gaps in its age-verification systems and user safety protections. The company has committed "direct violations to a number of obligations and protective norms of Brazilian law, regarding the special protections and safety of vulnerable groups, including children and teenagers," Brazil's Solicitor-General's office said. The office is also asking the court to order Discord to immediately strengthen parental controls, expand cooperation with local law enforcement, and deploy automated tools to detect and remove dangerous content. The filing also notes that Discord faces similar legal pressure globally, including active lawsuits in U.S. states like Texas, Nevada and New Jersey. Lula, who is seeking reelection in October, and Brazil's Supreme Court have tried to regulate the use of the internet by minors, with mixed results so far, at a moment when countries, including Australia, Canada and Indonesia, are undertaking similar efforts. Brazil's first lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, said on Aug. 6 that the platform should be taken offline, citing the suicide case. Five teenagers were arrested in connection with the death, according to Brazil's justice ministry. Discord has more than 90 million active daily users worldwide, according to its website.
Brazil sues Discord for $100mil in child safety case | New Straits Times
RIO DE JANEIRO: The Brazilian government on Wednesday said it was suing the Discord messaging platform for nearly $100 million in damages over its alleged failure to protect children from harmful content and demanded it adopt stronger safeguards. Brazil's National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) ordered Discord to suspend livestreams earlier this month after a 13-year-old girl was goaded into killing herself during a livestream. A government statement said the lawsuit filed Tuesday in the capital, Brasilia, was brought after failed negotiations with Discord, whose proposals were "deemed insufficient to eliminate the identified risks." "The lawsuit seeks to compel the Discord platform to adopt effective measures to protect children, adolescents, and women in the digital environment," said the statement. "It also requests that the company be ordered to pay R$ 500 million ($97 million) in compensation for collective moral damages." What To Read Next The messaging platform, with over 90 million active daily users, agreed to suspend livestreaming in Brazil on August 17, assuring it was working "to make Discord safer for teens." However, Brasilia said it "continues to exhibit flaws in its age verification and user protection mechanisms," exposing users to serious risks, such as those that resulted in the girl's death in July. Five teenagers and an adult have been arrested in connection with the suicide in a small town in central-western Brazil. Over 45 minutes, the teens allegedly encouraged the girl to kill an animal, and when she failed to do so, they encouraged her to kill herself, according to an official with the Justice Ministry's Ciberlab intelligence unit. One of the teens arrested was just 14. Brazil is demanding that Discord implement stricter parental controls, cooperate more closely with the authorities and implement systems capable of detecting and preventing situations that put minors at risk. In a blog post earlier this month, Discord co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy assured that the company was working "to make Discord safer for teens." - 'Powerful signal' - Brazil has taken a tough stance against social media platforms, cracking down on disinformation and requiring users under 16 to have their accounts linked to those of their parents. On Tuesday, the ANPD fined TikTok nearly $30 million for failing to implement child safety measures in what it said was a "powerful signal" to social media companies. ANPD director Lorena Giuberti Coutinho said the agency last week initiated proceedings to verify the compliance of 22 social media networks and platforms with a law passed this year to protect children and teens online. "I think we can expect much stronger enforcement action" in coming months, she said. Brazil's Supreme Court has also locked horns with Big Tech, specifically Elon Musk's X, over online disinformation. Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes has been accused by the Brazilian and American right of censorship for, among other things, blocking access to X for 40 days in 2024.
Brazil sues online platform Discord over alleged failures in children protection
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. SAO PAULO (AP) -- Brazil's government said on Wednesday it filed a lawsuit in a federal court against Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, seeking damages of 500 million reais (about $97 million) for the company's alleged failure to protect children online. The move comes in the wake of a July suicide case linked to the platform. Earlier this month, Brazil's government pushed Discord to suspend its live broadcasts in relation to the incident. The Solicitor-General's office for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement the damages it is seeking from Discord are due to alleged collective psychological harm it has allowed. Discord in Brazil said in a statement that the move by the country's government is "disproportionate" and "does not accurately reflect Discord's approach to safety and compliance with Brazilian law." Brazil's government's 25-page long lawsuit, which was obtained by The Associated Press, says there are severe gaps in its age-verification systems and user safety protections. The company has committed "direct violations to a number of obligations and protective norms of Brazilian law, regarding the special protections and safety of vulnerable groups, including children and teenagers," Brazil's Solicitor-General's office said. The office is also asking the court to order Discord to immediately strengthen parental controls, expand cooperation with local law enforcement, and deploy automated tools to detect and remove dangerous content. The filing also notes that Discord faces similar legal pressure globally, including active lawsuits in U.S. states like Texas, Nevada and New Jersey. Lula, who is seeking reelection in October, and Brazil's Supreme Court have tried to regulate the use of the internet by minors, with mixed results so far, at a moment when countries, including Australia, Canada and Indonesia, are undertaking similar efforts. Brazil's first lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, said on Aug. 6 that the platform should be taken offline, citing the suicide case. Five teenagers were arrested in connection with the death, according to Brazil's justice ministry. Discord has more than 90 million active daily users worldwide, according to its website. ___ Follow AP's Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
