Lawsuit Seeks to Suspend Discord in Brazil, Citing Failures Under New Digital Child Safety Law

The U.S.-based communications platform Discord faces a potential ban in Brazil and a demand for a collective indemnity of R$300 million (approximately $55 million USD at the current exchange rate) following a public civil action filed by a prominent consumer protection group. The action, brought by the Instituto Defesa Coletiva (Collective Defense Institute), argues the platform exhibits systemic security failures that violate the nation’s new and rigorous digital child protection standards, setting a significant precedent for tech company accountability in the country.

The lawsuit was filed in the 30th Civil Court of the District of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and demands that Discord be suspended across Brazil until it proves it has adopted adequate security measures, user identification protocols, and a clear response system for abuse reports. The Institute’s core claim is that the service is "defective" because it is routinely used to facilitate grave crimes, including the production and sharing of child sexual abuse material, self-mutilation, and inducing suicide. The legal challenge specifically cites the recent tragic death of a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly driven to suicide during a live session on the platform.

The case is backed by the new Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents, known as the ECA Digital (Law No. 15.211/2025), which came into effect in March 2026. This landmark Brazilian legislation shifts the burden of online safety onto technology companies, requiring a "safety-by-design" approach that compels them to implement robust and reliable age verification, parental consent for users under 16, and proactive safeguards to protect minors. The ECA Digital explicitly grants authorities the power to levy massive fines or even suspend a platform for non-compliance.

The judicial action is running parallel to a separate administrative investigation by the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD), which has also opened a process to assess Discord's compliance with the ECA Digital's new rules. Furthermore, the platform has been required to submit a proposal for internal improvements to the Attorney General's Office (AGU). The converging legal and administrative pressure underscores a growing national resolve in Brazil to enforce its new digital protection laws, which are among the most comprehensive in the world.

What happens next will hinge on the initial ruling from the Minas Gerais court regarding the suspension demand, as well as the outcome of the ANPD's investigation. Any decision to suspend a major U.S. social platform would be an unprecedented escalation in Brazil's efforts to regulate Big Tech, forcing a fundamental rethink of how global platforms operate within the country’s newly established legal framework.

What it touches The case highlights the escalating regulatory risk for all international tech companies operating in Brazil, particularly those in the social media and gaming sectors that are accessible to minors. The aggressive enforcement of the ECA Digital, which applies to any digital service likely to be accessed by children, introduces significant operational and financial liability for the sector, regardless of a company’s headquarters.