Brazil sues Discord for US$100m, judge orders tighter safeguards after teen suicide

On October 1, a Brazilian judge issued a ruling requiring messaging platform Discord to enhance safety measures for underage users following the suicide of a 13-year-old girl. The independent nation has been a leading regulator of online platforms, recently filing a lawsuit against Discord for US$100 million in July after the teenager's death.

Wednesday's court order mandated the implementation of stricter parental control and age verification measures to prevent similar incidents, with daily fines of approximately US$20,000 for non-compliance. The court has yet to rule on the government's lawsuit alleging Discord's failure to protect children from harmful content. During a livestream, teenage users reportedly encouraged the girl to kill an animal, and once she refused, incited her to commit suicide.

In response to the tragedy, Brazil's National Data Protection Agency ordered Discord to suspend livestreams and the platform subsequently introduced a plan to strengthen its safety features; however, Brazilian authorities deemed these measures inadequate. The US-based company, which boasts over 90 million daily active users globally, has not yet commented on the latest ruling.

Brazil now mandates platforms to link accounts of users under 16 to their parents and verify users' ages.