Brazil demands Discord safety controls after teen suicide

Brazilian authorities are demanding stronger safety controls from Discord after investigators said a 13-year-old girl was encouraged to self-harm and take her own life during a livestream on the platform.

The office of the Attorney General of the Union said Tuesday it had requested and received a proposal from Discord to strengthen user safety, particularly for children and adolescents. It has demanded concrete measures such as age verification.

Investigators say five teenagers have been arrested in connection with the girl's death.

Discord said it was cooperating with authorities in the investigation. The company said it had deactivated, before the teenager's death, a private server suspected of being used by people involved in criminal activities encouraging self-harm.

Rosangela da Silva, wife of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, called for Discord to be shut down and urged the judiciary to remove the platform from the internet.

A Brazilian law that came into effect earlier this year requires platforms to link accounts of users under 16 to their parents' accounts and to verify users' ages.