Brazil's National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) ordered Discord to suspend its livestreaming feature in Brazil within three days due to failures in protecting children and teenagers from harmful content online [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The decision came after a 13-year-old girl in a small city in Brazil's centre-west region committed suicide in July. During a 45-minute livestream, other Discord users allegedly incited her to self-harm and to take her own life [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Following the incident, five teenagers have been arrested in connection with the case, and police also rescued another girl who was about to commit suicide during a separate livestream [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. ANPD stated that livestreaming must remain suspended until Discord demonstrates it has implemented effective technical, security, and governance measures to protect minors [5].
Discord, which claims over 90 million daily active users globally, said it is disappointed by the suspension order but is carefully analyzing the directive and rejects the characterization of its platform by ANPD [1, 2, 3, 4, 6]. The company has removed the invite-only group involved in the case and continues to cooperate with law enforcement [1, 2, 3, 4, 6]. However, Discord explained that its technical structure prevents direct access to livestream content during broadcasts. It relies on automated behavioral detection systems and participant reports to monitor private spaces in real time, which limits its ability to detect violations as they happen [5].
Brazil recently strengthened protections for children online, requiring platforms to link under-16 accounts to parents and verify user age [2, 3, 4]. Alessandro Barreto, coordinator of Brazil's Justice Ministry Ciberlab unit, criticized Discord for severe content moderation failures, describing "minors grooming minors to commit barbaric acts" as "digital slavery" and warning that girls are coerced into heinous acts online [2]. Rosangela da Silva, wife of Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, called for judicial authorities to shut down Discord, labeling it a "terrible internet platform" [1, 2, 3, 4, 6].
The suspension applies only to Discord's livestreaming or "Go Live" video features; other parts of the platform remain operational [5]. Discord submitted information to ANPD and its legal representatives met with officials on August 13. The suspension will remain until ANPD approves resumed livestreaming [5].
