Brazil Sues Discord for R$500M and Seeks Local Office
Brazil’s federal government has sued Discord for R$500M (approximately $97M) over perceived severe shortcomings in the platform’s age verification and user safety protections. This lawsuit comes three days after Discord appealed against a data protection authority order suspending its livestreaming feature, arguing that only a court can suspend a service.
The case was filed on Tuesday by the Advocacia-Geral da União, the federal government’s legal arm, in the federal court in Brasília. The decision to sue was made in a meeting between Solicitor General Jorge Messias, President Lula, and other officials.
The requested amount is not compensation but collective moral damages, to be paid to Brazil’s Diffuse Rights Defence Fund. An additional R$500,000 per day is sought for non-compliance, with a 15-day deadline for compliance if the injunction is granted.
Instead of monetary compensation, the government seeks a list of remedies, including:
- Real-time blocking of self-harm and extreme violence content in livestreams.
- A dedicated protocol for reporting sextortion to authorities.
- Age verification that is not solely based on user-provided birthday information.
- Structural changes, such as:
- Formal linking of under-16 accounts to a guardian.
- Restrictions on server invitations from new accounts.
- Measures to prevent the recreation of banned servers.
- A permanent reporting channel in Portuguese.
- Moderation staffing proportional to the Brazilian user base.
- Establishing a registered office and legal representative in Brazil.
The lawsuit is primarily based on the Digital Statute of the Child and Adolescent, which took effect in March and imposes strict requirements for platform safety, regardless of the company’s location.
The catalyst for this action was a July incident in Mato Grosso do Sul where a 13-year-old girl died during a Discord livestream after being coerced by group members. A 17-year-old was also pushed to self-harm during the same incident, and investigators found evidence suggesting a seven-year-old was targeted as well.
The government emphasizes that none of this was hidden, as the event was announced in advance and utilized core platform features. They claim Discord neither detected nor interrupted the livestream nor reported it to Brazilian authorities.
A previous regulator investigation found that Discord made technical changes to its livestreaming feature in early March, just before the new law took effect, that reduced minor protection.
Discord calls the lawsuit “disproportionate” and claims “it does not accurately reflect Discord’s approach to safety and compliance with Brazilian law”. The company states it had been negotiating in good faith and offered a detailed package of technical changes and financial investments in online safety in Brazil.
However, Solicitor General Messias asserts that Discord declined to sign a formal commitment to bring its operations into compliance. Neither side has released the rejected proposal, and the AGU maintains that it remains open to discussion.