New Jersey Sues Discord Over Child Safety Failures
New Jersey has become the first U.S. state to take legal action against Discord, the popular chat platform, over claims that it failed to protect children from disturbing and abusive content. In a lawsuit filed in Essex County Superior Court, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin accused the platform of turning a blind eye to harmful material including sexual exploitation, grooming, and violent content, while misleading parents about its safety features.
Originally launched in 2015 as a communication tool for gamers, Discord has grown to host over 200 million users, many of them children and teenagers. Its popularity surged during the pandemic, drawing concerns over its minimal age-verification processes and weak content moderation. Despite setting a minimum age of 13, the platform allows users to register anonymously with pseudonyms, making it easier for children to bypass age limits and for adults to pose as minors.
The lawsuit references several New Jersey criminal cases involving Discord, including instances where adults used the app to solicit explicit photos, engage in inappropriate chats with minors, and even commit sexual offenses via video. “We’ve seen awful things—child abuse, grooming, kidnapping—and the company simply hasn’t done enough,” said Platkin, adding that Discord prioritized profit over child safety.
Discord Responds, Citing Safety Tools and Enforcement
Discord has responded to the lawsuit, expressing surprise at the legal action and defending its safety record. Spokeswoman Jillian Susi emphasized the company’s ongoing investments in content moderation and user protection. “Discord is proud of our continuous efforts to improve safety,” she said, highlighting tools like content filters, safety alerts, and systems designed to detect and report child sexual abuse material.
The company also stated it promptly removes users who violate its policies and cooperates with authorities, including providing data to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2023, Discord rolled out features to empower both teens and parents, though prosecutors argue these measures were insufficient or inconsistently applied.
According to the lawsuit, Discord’s default message filtering settings, which claim to block explicit content, were only enabled by default in chats between non-friends from 2017 to 2023. Critics argue such settings should have been more broadly applied. Haley Hinkle of the children’s advocacy group Fairplay stated, “Most users don’t change default settings. It’s critical that platforms take more responsibility from the start.”
National Scrutiny and a Call for Accountability
Discord’s role in enabling child exploitation has not gone unnoticed on the national stage. During a January 2024 Senate hearing, Discord CEO Jason Citron, along with executives from Meta, TikTok, and X, faced tough questions about protecting children on their platforms. Lawmakers accused them of fostering “a crisis in America” and said they had “blood on their hands.”
In response, Citron claimed the company takes these issues seriously and is working with a tech firm co-founded by actor Ashton Kutcher to identify predatory behavior. However, investigations and criminal cases continue to raise alarms. A 2023 NBC News investigation uncovered 35 cases over six years involving child grooming, sexual assault, or kidnapping linked to Discord.
Recent legal cases have reinforced the urgency. In Michigan, a man received a 30-year sentence for using Discord to stream children engaging in self-harm and explicit acts. Another case in California involved a man accused of kidnapping a 10-year-old girl after communication on Discord and Roblox.
Advocates say the New Jersey lawsuit may be a turning point. “This is one attempt at accountability,” said Hinkle. “We need stronger rules to protect kids online—before tragedy strikes.”
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