Florida Attorney General sues Discord over alleged child-safety failures

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier lodged a civil complaint in Glades County Circuit Court, claiming Discord failed to implement sufficient safeguards for minors, thereby breaching Florida statutes. He warned that the platform's anonymous chat features let adults impersonate children and expose them to sexual and physical abuse. After six months of negotiations, Uthmeier said Discord introduced some positive changes but they do not fully protect users.

The lawsuit adds to a series of Florida actions targeting tech companies, including recent suits against Roblox, Snapchat, Meta, Netflix and OpenAI. Discord's spokesperson argued the allegations mischaracterize the service, emphasizing its lack of algorithmic feeds, reliance on user reports, and a newly rolled-out age-appropriate experience for teen communities. Other states such as Nevada, Texas and New Jersey have similarly sued Discord over child-safety deficiencies.