The state of New Jersey has initiated a legal case against Discord, accusing the chat application of engaging in “deceptive and unconscionable business practices” that endanger younger users. This lawsuit follows a multiyear investigation conducted by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. The office claims to have found evidence indicating that, despite Discord’s child protection policies, the app is putting young users “at risk.”
Attorney General Matthew Platkin revealed that New Jersey is the first state to sue Discord. He identified two main catalysts for the investigation: a personal incident where a family friend informed him that his 10-year-old was able to sign up on Discord in violation of its policy banning users under 13, and the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, where the suspect used Discord for planning and live-streaming the attack.
Platkin accused tech companies of prioritizing profit over the welfare of children. The lawsuit alleges a violation of New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, focusing on Discord’s policies designed to keep children under 13 off the platform and protect teenagers from sexual exploitation and violent content. This legal move is part of a broader trend of states taking action against major social media companies, although previous efforts have met with limited success.
Discord’s policies prohibit children under 13 from using the platform and ensure teenagers are protected from harmful interactions. The company employs algorithms to filter out unwanted sexual messages. In its 2023 safety policy, Discord emphasizes its commitment to providing a fun and secure environment for teens.
However, New Jersey contends that Discord’s assurances are inadequate. The Attorney General cited Discord’s three levels of safety intended to shield young users from harmful content: “Keep me safe,” which scans all messages, “my friends are nice,” which does not scan messages from friends, and “do not scan,” which bypasses message scanning altogether. The lawsuit argues that the default setting for teenage users, “my friends are nice,” could pose a risk, and criticizes Discord for not verifying users’ ages to prevent those under 13 from joining.
Although Discord introduced additional filters in 2023 to block unwanted sexual content, the Attorney General’s office insists that the “keep me safe” feature should be the default setting.
