Brazil sues Discord for $97 million over alleged failures to protect children

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)