Discord ordered to suspend livestreams in Brazil
Discord told the BBC it was "thoughtfully reviewing" the order by Brazil's data protection agency and it was "committed to user safety"
Brazil's data protection authority (ANPD) has ordered Discord to suspend its livestreaming feature following the death of a 13-year-old girl allegedly encouraged to take her own life on the platform. The ANPD launched an investigation on August 7 after the girl's demise, which reportedly occurred due to pressure from others in the Discord server she was a part of.
Discord expressed its commitment to user safety and stated that it swiftly shut down the private server involved in the case. However, ANPD noted that Discord lacks real-time access to livestream content, making automated violation detection difficult. The platform, which has over 200 million monthly active users, is particularly popular among gamers.
Five teenagers have been arrested in connection to the girl's death. Discord faces potential fines of up to 50 million reais ($9.67 million) per violation and has three days to comply with the suspension, with the option to appeal within 10 business days. The ANPD will keep the suspension in place until Discord demonstrates the implementation of adequate protective measures for minors, which may include age verification checks.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Technology's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
