Brazil Sues Discord Over Age Verification Failures, a Day After Fining TikTok

Brazil has sued Discord for $97 million, saying the chat platform still shows flaws in the mechanisms it uses to check how old its users are.

The public civil action was filed on Wednesday after what the government described as failed negotiations with the company. It seeks compensation for collective moral damages and a daily fine of R$500,000 if Discord does not comply with court-ordered measures within 15 days. “The lawsuit seeks to compel the Discord platform to adopt effective measures to protect children, adolescents, and women in the digital environment,” the government said.

The government said Discord “continues to exhibit flaws in its age verification and user protection mechanisms.” The company called the suit excessively harsh and said it does not accurately depict its compliance with Brazilian law.

The remedy sought is built around age checking rather than content moderation alone. Brasilia is asking the court to compel stronger age verification, parental supervision and moderation, and frames the damages claim as compensation for harm already done rather than a penalty tied to a single incident.

The case follows a death that drew national attention. On July 22 a 13-year-old girl was on a livestream when she killed herself after being goaded to do so by other teenagers; four teenagers and one adult have been arrested. Brazil’s National Data Protection Agency ordered Discord to suspend livestreaming on August 12, and the platform, which has around 90 million daily active users, said it would stop streaming and take steps to make itself safer for teens.

The same regulator fined TikTok $30 million on Tuesday over child privacy violations, making this the second enforcement action against a major platform in Brazil in two days. Both are being brought under the Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents, which took effect on March 17 and requires platforms to provide age-appropriate experiences and safeguards against harmful content and inappropriate contact. New Zealand has taken the statutory route to the same obligation, with a bill this month placing an age assurance duty on platforms rather than leaving it to enforcement after the fact.

Discord has been ordered to change its age checks in another jurisdiction this year. A Texas court in July required the company to extend the age assurance it deploys in the UK to users in that state, an order that turned on the company already running stricter checks elsewhere.

Sources: Al Jazeera

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By Ali Nassar-Smith