Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) said it has ordered the immediate stop of Discord’s live streaming option in the country, pointing to “robust evidence” that the platform did not sufficiently safeguard children and adolescents from serious dangers. Those dangers include things like incitement to self-harm, and even suicide.
According to the G1, “Discord’s live streams were suspended in Brazil after the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) found that the feature had been repeatedly used in cases involving violence, harassment, and the incitement of self-harm and suicide among children and adolescents.”
The death of a 13-year-old girl in June shocked Brazil and prompted investigations into Discord. She died by suicide after joining a virtual community on the platform that allegedly livestreamed abusive content and encouraged suicide. The impact was so significant that First Lady Janja Lula da Silva herself called for the social media platform to be deactivated.
The preventive move was announced today, and it basically gives the San Francisco-based communications service three business days to switch off its “Go Live” feature, or whatever they call it in practice. After that, the halt will stay active unless Discord can show concrete, effective actions that limit people’s exposure to harmful content and predatory contact happening inside its own private servers, at least in Brazil.
Regulatory Crackdown
The ANPD decision comes after they launched an investigation last week, while political pressure kept growing and there was a reported tragedy involving a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly pushed into suicide during a live broadcast on the platform. Brazil's First Lady, Janja Lula da Silva, said in public she wants a complete ban, on the app.
"Discord is not being blocked entirely," said Fabrício Lopes, ANPD’s Superintendent of Oversight. "The preventive measure pauses the 'Go Live' function, that people use for streaming inside closed servers. The plan is to reduce the danger of serious or irreversible harm that children and adolescents are being put through."
Regulators said that Discord’s architecture kind of keeps the company from grabbing live video data in real time, so it becomes hard to see crimes right as they happen. Instead, the platform tends to use automated mechanisms and reports from users, but the ANPD judged that as not enough, or inadequate really.
Rising Scrutiny
The crackdown arrives while Discord is getting global heat about its safety protocols. In 2024, U.S. senators spoke directly to founder Jason Citron, regarding predatory groups on the platform. Russia and Turkey have already blocked, or limited the service, citing content moderation gaps and its refusal to share data with local officials.
In Brazil, the app’s second-largest market, complaints tied to Discord jumped 54% in the first seven months of 2026, versus the same span the year before, according to numbers from the NGO SaferNet Brazil.
Discord, which recently filed confidentially for an IPO in the U.S., said it has already spotted and deactivated the server tied to the recent tragedy. Still, Brazilian authorities are now discussing next steps, and they are mulling over fines that could reach as much as 50 million reais, about $9 million, plus even a complete suspension if the safety rules under the country’s Digital Child and Adolescent Statute aren’t complied with.
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