Chat platform Discord is being sued by the state of Florida, through the office of Attorney General James Uthmeier, for allegedly facilitating the abuse of children. The platform is used throughout the video game industry for community building.
The lawsuit was filed in the circuit court for Glades County, Florida, and claims Discord "intentionally lures children to its application, promising a safe platform for 'fun' interactions."
It states that Discord deploys "child-focused advertising" in the form of colourful logos and slogans to attract young users while ultimately misleading lawmakers and parents about the quality and application of key safety measures.
"Discord executives have conceded that, despite the company's public promises about safety, Discord was, for many years, 'not proactive at all' with its safety efforts on the application, particularly against child sexual abuse material ('CSAM'). But even after acknowledging this as an issue, CSAM on Discord increased by 474% from 2021 to 2022, reads the legal filing.
"Discord long delayed deploying critical age-assurance features. Only in the past few weeks, after facing significant pressure from and investigations by regulators, did Discord finally announce age-assurance procedures."
The lawsuit claims Discord has adopted a "lax" approach to remediation and moderation when people break its rules, creating a "haven" for child predators.
"Child predators and other bad actors have found a haven in Discord. So much so that 'abusers that organized sextortion criminal networks … have been documented to use Discord to share tactics, recruit victims, and coordinate sextortion at a larger scale.' Child predators similarly rely on Discord's platform to obtain CSAM from children and share and trade material with others," the suit continues.
The lawsuit adds that behind the "veneer" of creating meaningful connections in a friendly environment resides a platform built on "false safety promises" that is causing significant harm to minors.
By way of evidence, it adds that "state and federal agencies have charged and prosecuted many adults who preyed on and sexually exploited children using the Discord platform" either using their real identities or false personas."
In a blog published on September 22, 2026, entitled 'Safer for Teens, Same Discord for Adults,' Discord outlines how it is implementing global age assurance checks to better protect teens and younger users while preserving its user experience for adults.
The measure will prevent those in the teen age group (aged 13-17) from immediately receiving messages from strangers ("non-friends") and viewing "sensitive images" flagged by the platform's content filters. Profile details and activity metrics are also less visible.
"We've chosen to launch our stronger protections for teens everywhere using the most privacy-preserving approach we could build, including where it isn't yet required by law, because we believe it's the right thing to do," said Discord CTO and co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy in the post.
"By launching a global approach with non-biometric options, we're getting ahead of laws that might ask us to implement something less privacy-focused. The decisions policymakers make now will shape how platforms advance both teen safety and privacy for years to come, and I encourage people to make their perspectives heard where they live."
Discord's Terms of Service require users to be at least 13 years old to use the platform. The lawsuit claims children younger than 13 have been abused on Discord.
Vertical Slice has reached out to Discord for comment.
Chris is an award-winning reporter with over a decade of experience covering the video game industry. He was formerly news editor at Game Developer and is currently the founder and editor of this resplendent website.
