Brazil orders Discord chat platform to bolster child safety after teen suicide

BRASILIA – A Brazilian judge on Sept 30 ordered the messaging platform Discord to do more to protect underage users after detecting shortfalls that allegedly led to the suicide of a 13-year-old girl.

The South American nation is one of the most active online regulators on the planet and in September sued Discord for nearly US$100 million (S$128 million) after the teenager’s death in July.

The ruling on Sept 30 ordered the platform to strengthen its parental control and age verification mechanisms, among other measures.

Failure to comply with these “emergency” provisions will result in a daily fine of around US$20,000, the ruling said.

The court in Brasilia has not yet ruled on the lawsuit filed by the government over Discord’s alleged failure to protect children from harmful content.

Helplines

Mental well-being

• National Mindline: 1771 (24 hours) / 6669-1771 (via WhatsApp)
• Samaritans of Singapore: 1-767 (24 hours) / 9151-1767 (24 hours CareText via WhatsApp)
• Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
• Silver Ribbon Singapore: 6386-1928
• Chat, Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health: 6493-6500/1
• Women’s Helpline (Aware): 1800-777-5555 (weekdays, 10am to 6pm)
• The Seniors Helpline: 1800-555-5555 (weekdays, 9am to 5pm)
• Tinkle Friend (for primary school-age children): 1800-2744-788
• Mindfull Community HQ (for caregivers, families and persons in recovery): 6460-4400 (weekdays, 9am to 5pm)

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• Clarity Singapore: 6757-7990
• Care Corner Counselling Centre: 6353-1180

Online resources

• mindline.sg/fsmh
• eC2.sg
• chat.mentalhealth.sg
• carey.carecorner.org.sg (for those aged 13 to 25)
• limitless.sg/talk (for those aged 12 to 25)

During a 45-minute live streaming, other teenage users allegedly encouraged a young girl to kill an animal, and when she failed to do so, goaded her into killing herself.

Brazil’s National Data Protection Agency ordered Discord to suspend live streamings following the suicide in a small town in the centre-west of the country.

That same month, the platform introduced a plan to improve its safety features, but the measures were deemed insufficient by the Brazilian authorities.

The US-based company with more than 90 million active daily users worldwide did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on the latest ruling.

Brazil in 2026 made it compulsory for platforms to link under-16 accounts to those of their parents and to verify users’ ages. AFP