New Jersey has filed a civil suit against the social gaming platform Discord for allegedly failing to protect underage users from predators, making it the first state to do so. The suit accuses Discord of violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act by not doing enough to prevent adult users from finding and contacting minors on the platform. Discord is a popular app for gamers to chat while playing video games, but has faced criticism for not adequately protecting children under 13, who are banned from using the app. New Jersey’s attorney general accused Discord of not making it difficult enough for underage users to create accounts and for predators to contact them.
Discord has defended its efforts to protect children, but New Jersey alleges that many of the platform’s safety measures are easily circumvented. The state’s lawsuit is part of a growing trend of states suing tech companies for failing to adequately protect children, although previous suits have focused on larger companies like Google and Facebook. Discord has faced increased scrutiny in recent years, with reports of adults using the platform to groom or sexually exploit minors. The company’s CEO has acknowledged these issues and has implemented updated child safety policies, including banning teen dating and AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
Despite Discord’s efforts to improve child safety measures, New Jersey’s lawsuit highlights ongoing concerns about the platform’s ability to protect underage users from predators. The outcome of the lawsuit could have broader implications for social gaming platforms and their responsibilities to protect children online.
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