Brazil's government sues Discord for $97M, accusing it of failing to comply with laws protecting children and teens; Discord calls the lawsuit disproportionate (Reuters)

The Brazilian government has sued the messaging platform Discord for $97 million, accusing it of failing to protect children and teenagers from harmful content. According to the New Straits Times, the lawsuit was filed in Brasilia after failed negotiations with Discord, whose proposals were deemed insufficient to eliminate identified risks.

The lawsuit seeks to compel Discord to adopt effective measures to protect children, adolescents, and women in the digital environment. It also requests that the company pay R$ 500 million ($97 million) in compensation for collective moral damages.

Discord has called the lawsuit "disproportionate" and stated that it does not accurately reflect the company's approach to safety and compliance with Brazilian law, as reported by the Associated Press. The lawsuit follows a July incident in which a 13-year-old girl was goaded into killing herself during a livestream, and Discord's subsequent suspension of livestreaming in Brazil on August 17.

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, New Straits Times, Associated Press — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.