Officials say subpoenas seek data on child usage, criminal activity, and safety measures on Discord.
SARASOTA, Fla. — Florida has launched an investigation into the popular communication app Discord, prompted by concerns over child safety. Attorney General James Uthmeier made the announcement at a press conference Wednesday. A spokesperson for Discord told 10 Tampa Bay News that they will “actively cooperate.”
The online platform was served subpoenas requesting multiple documents and information related to how children use the platform, the AG’s office confirmed to 10 Tampa Bay News.
Additionally, the state will investigate data concerning children’s usage of the platform, any instances of criminal activity, and how Discord has responded to such incidents.
Discord is a free app used by millions around the world where people can chat through servers, which function as community hubs, and exchange text, photos and videos in groups or individual chats.
The investigation alleges the platform has increasingly been identified as a service used by predators to communicate with children and distribute and collect child sexual abuse material.
The AG’s office said there have been concerning reports about alleged predators first contacting minors through online platforms, citing video games like Roblox and Fortnite, which they then use to move communications to Discord, “which may be due to insufficient protections for children.”
The filing of the subpoena, according to the AG’s office, suggests that Discord “potentially” violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. According to the Florida Statutes, this Act relates to laws about “consumer protection, unfair methods of competition, and unconscionable, deceptive, and unfair trade practices.”
The goal of the Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practice Act is designed to protect the public and businesses from entities engaging in unfair and deceptive methods, as well as to protect and enforce the rights of consumers in the state, according to the Florida Statutes.
The investigation will look into how the platform promotes itself as safe and appropriate for kids, including marketing aimed directly at them.
The AG’s office is also looking into how Discord moderates content, any complaints about exploitation and what actions were taken in response. In addition, Uthmeier’s office is demanding documents and information about age verification, parental control features, any criminal cases involving kids and data showing how minors are using Discord.
“Many of our criminal investigations into internet child predators lead to one place: Discord,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said. “Groomers and predators seem to believe that they can get away with targeting children on Discord—and we are going to find out why. Discord owes us an explanation on the overwhelming use of its platform among predators, and what they are doing to protect children.”
“Discord is deeply committed to safety and we require all users to be at least 13 to use our platform,” a spokesperson told 10 Tampa Bay News. We use a combination of advanced technology and trained safety teams to proactively find and remove content that violates our policies. We also maintain strong systems to prevent the spread of sexual exploitation and grooming on our platform, and work with other technology companies and safety organizations to improve online safety across the internet. Discord cooperates with law enforcement agencies, including those in Florida, and our reports have helped to play a material role in the prosecution of bad actors. We look forward to actively cooperating with the Attorney General’s office in this investigation.”
