Brazil Sues Discord for Failing to Protect Children and Adolescents, Seeking Nearly $100 Million in Damages | WPN World People News

On the 26th, the Brazilian government, through the Office of the Attorney General of the Union (AGU), filed a public civil action in the Federal Court of Brasília against the popular communication platform Discord. The lawsuit accuses Discord of failing to comply with child and adolescent protection laws and seeks up to 500 million Brazilian reais (approximately $97 million USD) in collective moral damages. Under Brazil’s Digital Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA Digital), which took effect in March 2026, the platform contains age-verification loopholes that expose minors to extreme risks of harmful content; the law mandates that platforms must exercise a duty of care and implement safety-by-design and preventive safeguards.

The lawsuit was triggered by a tragedy in July of this year, when a 13-year-old girl was incited and encouraged by members of an online group to take her own life while livestreaming on Discord, ultimately resulting in her fatal suicide. In the same incident, another 17-year-old was also encouraged to self-harm.

Discord completely failed to detect this severe violation at the time—it did not interrupt the livestream, nor did it report the incident to Brazilian authorities. Five teenagers and one adult were arrested by Brazilian authorities in connection with the suicide, including a suspect as young as 14. Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) subsequently ordered Discord to suspend its livestreaming and video-sharing features in the country. Violations of this administrative order carry fines of up to 50 million reais (approximately $9.7 million USD) per infraction.

The Brazilian government had previously attempted to reach a compliance agreement with Discord, demanding that the platform establish strict age verification rather than allowing registration via arbitrarily entered birthdates, mandatorily link accounts of users under 16 to a legal guardian, and implement real-time monitoring mechanisms to block self-harm and extreme violence. However, negotiations collapsed and led to legal action because Discord's proposed technical and financial remediation plans were deemed "insufficient to eliminate potential risks." In its complaint, the government requested an injunction from the court; if granted, the platform will face daily fines of 500,000 reais (approximately $97,000 USD) if the issues are not remedied within 15 days.

By seeking such substantial collective damages, the Brazilian government aims to send a strong signal to all multinational tech platforms regarding its determination to strictly enforce the newly enacted ECA Digital. The 500-million-real claim in collective moral damages is roughly three times the 153.8 million reais (approximately $30 million USD) fine levied just a day prior (on the 25th) against ByteDance’s TikTok for violating child data protection laws.

Discord issued a statement expressing regret over the lawsuit, calling the requested damages disproportionate and arguing that they do not accurately reflect the platform's efforts to maintain safety and comply with Brazilian law, adding that it will continue to communicate with Brazilian authorities to seek a resolution.