Brazil Orders Discord to Suspend Livestreams Over Child Safety

Brazil's data protection authority has ordered the messaging platform Discord to suspend its livestreaming features nationwide, citing the company's failure to protect minors from violent and harmful content. The directive, issued on August 12, 2026, follows the suicide of a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly encouraged to take her own life during a live broadcast on the platform last month.

The National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) gave Discord three business days to comply with the order, which specifically targets the "Go Live" feature and other similar video-sharing tools. The platform itself will not be blocked, but these features will be unavailable to users until Discord can demonstrate it has implemented adequate safeguards for minors. The agency stated the suspension will remain in place until the company proves it has put measures such as age verification checks in place.

The investigation was launched after the death of the teenager in a small city in central-western Brazil. Authorities say that during a 45-minute Discord livestream in July, the girl was incited to harm herself and ultimately take her own life. Police described the incident as a "real-life horror...