Florida sues Discord, alleging the platform fails to protect children from predators

Florida's Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against Discord, the chat platform used by more than 90 million people a day, alleging it deceived parents about child safety and left minors exposed to sexual predators.

James Uthmeier announced the 65-page complaint at a news conference in Tampa on Thursday. It was filed in the 20th Judicial Circuit Court, which covers Glades County, and alleges the platform allows adults to sign up and pose as children with nothing more than an email address and a birthday, because it does not verify users' ages. Discord says under-13s may not hold accounts, but its own rules are not backed by age checks.

"Discord told parents that safety is at the core of everything they do. That was false," Uthmeier said. "It's time for this app to get serious about protecting our children or face serious consequences." He said his office had arrested more than 2,100 child predators since he took office, and that "again and again, their trail to our kids leads back to Discord".

What the complaint alleges

The lawsuit lists eight incidents between 2022 and 2026 in which an adult is said to have sexually exploited a minor through the platform, all involving a Florida perpetrator or victim. Among them is a case in which investigators found a 60-year-old man from St. Cloud posing as a 14-year-old boy and contacting nearly 300 minors. Uthmeier also pointed to a separate Florida prosecution in which a 19-year-old man is accused of drawing an 11-year-old girl onto Discord through the gaming platform Roblox; the girl was later kidnapped and sexually assaulted, and her family has brought its own lawsuit.

The complaint alleges violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the state's Online Protection Law, along with claims for negligence, negligent misrepresentation and creating a public nuisance. The state is asking the court to permanently bar Discord from operating without genuine age verification and from collecting children's data without parental consent, and is seeking civil penalties of up to $10,000 per wilful violation of the deceptive practices law, $50,000 per breach of the online child protection law, and $150,000 where the company knew a user was under 18, plus damages and restitution.

The suit follows a civil investigation opened in March, which included subpoenas for information on marketing, content moderation, parental controls and how the company handles suspected criminal activity. Uthmeier acknowledged that Discord announced an age assurance system and new teen safety settings on 22 September, but called the steps insufficient.

Discord's response

A Discord spokesperson said in a statement: "The lawsuit's characterisation of Discord does not reflect the platform we have built or the investments we have made in user safety." The company noted the platform has no algorithmic feeds, infinite scroll or public likes, and said it recently introduced a platform-wide age-appropriate experience. "We have consistently engaged and collaborated with law enforcement in Florida," the spokesperson said.

Discord, launched in 2015, says most of its daily users are adults, and that it proactively scans for and removes child sexual abuse material. Attorneys general in Texas and Nevada have filed similar lawsuits.

Uthmeier has pursued other platforms too, suing Snapchat, TikTok, Meta and Roblox, and defending a 2024 state law banning social media accounts for under-14s.

The Florida action is part of a wider debate about how platforms reward whatever wins clicks and views, and how shocking material aimed at children keeps surfacing despite safety pledges. It also adds to rising concern among parents and regulators, and to the growing number of claims against social media companies now working through the courts. More and more families are asking whether harm to a child could support a claim, how a social media claim works, and what support exists for parents and carers of children harmed online.

The wider picture

Regulators are moving in the same direction elsewhere. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, services children are likely to use in the UK must prevent children seeing the most harmful content, assess risks to them, and can be fined by Ofcom up to £18 million or 10% of global annual income, whichever is higher. In July, the European Commission sent preliminary findings that TikTok's under-18 accounts do not meet Digital Services Act safety standards. Such social media claims and enforcement actions continue to multiply on both sides of the Atlantic.