Florida AG Investigates Discord Over Child Safety Concerns

FL Attorney General News Releases

Filed March 18th, 2026

Detected March 19th, 2026

Summary

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has launched a civil investigation into Discord concerning child safety. A subpoena has been issued demanding documents related to the platform's marketing to children, age verification, content moderation, and reporting of exploitative activity. This action stems from concerns that Discord is used by predators to target children.

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What changed

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has initiated a civil investigation into Discord, issuing a subpoena for documents related to the platform's child safety practices. The investigation focuses on Discord's marketing to children, age verification, content moderation, parental controls, and reporting of exploitative activity, citing concerns that the platform is used by predators to target minors. The subpoena also seeks information on how many children use the platform and records of criminal cases involving children. This action suggests potential violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Regulated entities, particularly technology companies and social media platforms, should be aware of increased scrutiny regarding child safety measures and marketing practices directed at minors. While this specific action is focused on Discord in Florida, it signals a broader trend of state-level enforcement actions targeting online platforms' responsibilities in protecting children. Companies should review their policies and procedures related to age verification, content moderation, and reporting mechanisms for exploitative activity to ensure compliance with consumer protection laws.

What to do next

Review marketing and promotional materials for child suitability.
Assess age-verification processes and parental control features.
Evaluate content moderation and reporting procedures for exploitative activity.

Penalties

Potential violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Source document (simplified)

Attorney General James Uthmeier Launches Investigation into Discord over Child Safety Concerns

View PDF Release Date Mar 18, 2026 Contact Communications Phone (850) 245-0150

Courtesy of the Office of the Attorney General

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— Attorney General James Uthmeier opened a civil investigation and subpoenaed Discord, a popular online chat platform. The subpoena demands documents and information related to the platform’s practices in marketing to children, enforcing age-verification requirements, content moderation, parental control features, and reporting of exploitative activity.

“Many of our criminal investigations into internet child predators lead to one place: Discord,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “Groomers and predators seem to believe that they can get away with targeting children on Discord—and we are going to find out why. Discord owes us an explanation on the overwhelming use of its platform among predators, and what they are doing to protect children.”

“Investigations show that offenders are using platforms like Roblox and Discord as an access point to reach children. Parents should know we are taking this seriously,” said Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman. “My message is clear, we are committed to protecting our kids, and predators have no safe place in our community. If you exploit children, we will find you, arrest you, and hold you accountable.”

Discord is widely used for online communication via messaging, audio, and video calls. The platform has increasingly been identified as a service that predators use to communicate with children and distribute and collect child sexual abuse material.

There have been many concerning reports indicating that predators initially contact minors on other platforms, including video games like Roblox and Fortnite, and then encourage them to move communications to Discord, which may be due to insufficient protections for children.

The subpoena seeks information and documents regarding Discord’s practices in safeguarding children from being exposed to harmful content and being targeted by child predators. The filing suggests that Discord has potentially violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Attorney General Uthmeier is demanding Discord produce documents, including, but not limited to:

Marketing and promotional materials that represent the platform’s safety, suitability, and appropriateness for children.
Documents relating to the marketing of Discord directly to children.
Procedures relating to content and communication moderation.
Records of complaints alleging exploitation, and records of responsive steps taken.
Documents describing age-verification processes and parent control features.
Records of criminal cases involving children.
Data on how many children are utilizing the platform.

This investigation is part of Attorney General Uthmeier’s effort to investigate and bring accountability for the exploitative environment that has been created for children on social media websites and gaming platforms.

To read the full subpoena, click here.

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