Technology, AI & Cyber
Discord Brazil livestreams halted after teen suicide
Discord has suspended livestreaming, screen sharing and video calls for users in Brazil after a government order following the death of a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly encouraged to take her own life during a broadcast.
Brazil's National Data Protection Agency ordered the US-based platform on August 12 to suspend livestreams, saying it had failed to put safeguards in place to protect children. The agency gave Discord until Monday night to comply.
“We're complying with the order and working with the ANPD in good faith, which means that screen sharing and video calls will be unavailable for Brazilian users starting now,” Discord co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy said in a blog post.
Five teenagers and an adult have been arrested in connection with the girl's death in a small town in western central Brazil. One of the teenagers arrested was 14.
An official with the Justice Ministry's Ciberlab intelligence unit said the teenagers allegedly encouraged the girl over 45 minutes to kill an animal and, when she failed to do so, encouraged her to kill herself. A police officer described the death as a “real-life horror show”.
Vishnevskiy said Discord was not the only platform involved and said the “coordinated sadistic harm campaign” was carried out across multiple platforms. He said Discord was working to restore access to the affected features as quickly as possible and to make the platform safer for teenagers.
Discord said users in Brazil can still access audio calls and direct messages, among other tools.
When it ordered the suspension, the ANPD said livestreams had repeatedly been used to facilitate violence, harassment and the incitement of self-harm and suicide. It cited evidence that it said showed the company failed to adopt reasonable measures.
Discord had earlier said it was disappointed by the directive and rejected the agency's characterization of the platform. The company said it had taken down the invitation-only group accused in the case.
Rosangela da Silva, wife of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, called for Discord to be shut down and urged the judiciary to remove what she called a “horrible network” from the internet.
Discord says it has more than 90 million daily active users worldwide.
Brazil has recently sought to increase protections for children online, including rules requiring platforms to link accounts of users under 16 to parents' accounts and verify users' ages.
Update
Five teenagers and an adult have been arrested in connection with the 13-year-old girl's death.
One of the teenagers arrested was 14.
Discord said audio calls and direct messages remain available to users in Brazil.
A police officer described the girl's death as a real-life horror show.
Brazil has recently sought to strengthen child protections online, including rules linking accounts of users under 16 to parents' accounts and verifying user age.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 19:40:51 UTC.
Update
Discord co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy said the company is complying with the Brazilian order and working with the ANPD in good faith.
Discord said screen sharing and video calls are now unavailable for Brazilian users.
Vishnevskiy said Discord was working to restore access to the features as quickly as possible.
Vishnevskiy claimed the harmful campaign was carried out across multiple platforms.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 18:45:24 UTC.
Update
Discord says it has suspended livestreams in Brazil after the teen's suicide.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 17:51:28 UTC.
Update
Discord said it was disappointed by the ANPD directive and was carefully analysing it.
Discord rejected the agency's characterization of the platform and said it had removed the invite-only group involved in the case while continuing to cooperate with law enforcement.
Source note: AFP news report published on 12 August 2026 at 18:40:48 UTC.
Update
A police statement said an operation saved another girl who was about to die by suicide live on the internet.
Justice Ministry Ciberlab coordinator Alessandro Barreto accused Discord of a terrible failure in moderation.
Barreto said the 13-year-old was first incited to kill an animal and then to kill herself during the livestream.
Barreto said one detained 14-year-old boy was smiling after the events, and that parents of most detained adolescents were surprised.
The item adds context on Discord's claimed worldwide daily active users and Brazil's previous 40-day block of X in 2024.
Source note: AFP news report published on 12 August 2026 at 16:53:25 UTC.
Update
Brazil's data protection agency gave Discord three days to comply with the livestream suspension order.
The ANPD said it acted because of what it called robust evidence that Discord failed to adopt reasonable measures to protect children and adolescents.
The ANPD said livestreams had repeatedly been used to facilitate violence, harassment and incitement of self-harm and suicide.
Source note: AFP news report published on 12 August 2026 at 15:31:30 UTC.
Update
Brazil ordered the suspension of Discord livestreams after the teenager's death.
Source note: AFP news report published on 12 August 2026 at 14:50:44 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The girl's death is under investigation, and the claims about what the accused people did remain allegations.
Discord says more than one platform was involved, but the other platforms are not identified.
Source
AFP news report published on .