Regulator accuses platform of failing to adequately protect minors after a teenager’s suicide during a livestream.
Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, has suspended its livestreams in Brazil following an order from the National Data Protection Agency (ANDP). The regulator said the company had failed to sufficiently prevent minors from being exposed to content involving violence, self-harm and suicide. Discord said it is in talks with authorities to seek a solution that would allow it to reestablish the feature and remains committed to working with them to make the platform safer for users.
The move follows a case in July in which, according to Brazilian authorities, other users allegedly coerced a 13-year-old girl in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul into committing suicide during a livestream on Discord. Five teenagers were arrested in connection with her death. Brazil’s first lady, Rosângela Lula da Silva, called for the platform to be taken offline in the country.
Brazilian authorities are also seeking to strengthen regulation of minors’ use of the internet. Similar efforts are underway in Australia, Canada and Indonesia. According to the Brazilian regulator, Discord failed to sufficiently protect children and adolescents from content that violates their rights.
Discord has more than 90 million active daily users worldwide, according to its website.
Source: AP News
