Florida attorney general sues Discord, alleging platform failed to protect children

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued Discord, alleging the online chat platform marketed itself as safe for children while failing to adequately verify users’ ages, limit contact between minors and strangers, or remove predators.RELATED: Uthmeier asks court to temporarily block OpenAI from offering ChatGPT to minorsThe lawsuit, filed Oct. 15 in Glades County, accuses Discord of violating Florida’s consumer protection law and a state law protecting children online. It also alleges negligence, negligent misrepresentation and public nuisance. The claims have not been proven in court.“We’ve arrested more than 2,100 child predators in this state since I took office,” Uthmeier said in a statement. “Again and again, their trail to our kids leads back to Discord.”The complaint says Discord’s registration process asks users for an email address and date of birth but does not verify their age. It alleges that the platform’s default settings for years allowed strangers to send children fr