Attorney General Ken Paxton Files Landmark Lawsuit Against Discord for Deceiving Parents and Exposing Texas Children to Predators
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Discord, Inc. (“Discord”) for allowing child predators to groom and exploit kids while deceiving consumers, parents, and the public about the safety of its platform.In October 2025, Attorney General Paxton opened an investigation into Discord after it was reported that it was used by the assassin who murdered national hero Charlie Kirk, as well as reports that the platform is addictive and has exposed minors to sexual exploitation and extremist content. Discord has lied by claiming that safety was “at the core of everything we do” and “fully integrated into our design process.” This has been done while making deliberate product decisions that defaulted every account setting toward maximum exposure, staffed its most critical safety functions with unpaid volunteers, and built a platform architecture that federal prosecutors have described as “a hunting ground to find, manipulate, and sextort our most vulnerable.”Consequences of Discord’s design choices include a case in which a 13-year-old Texas girl was sexually assaulted in her home by a predator who groomed her on Discord over several years. Additionally, a 15-year-old boy was coerced into producing explicit material through Discord's messaging system and later died by suicide. Another example includes a 13-year-old who died by suicide after being targeted by the “764” extremist network, which operated openly on Discord servers. Despite direct notice from multiple federal agencies and the OAG, Discord has not changed the design choices that make exploitation possible.“Discord has allowed and invited all kinds of nihilistic violence and evil. My office is taking action to protect our nation’s precious children from predators,” said Attorney General Paxton. “We live in a time where the dangers children face online have never been greater, and every parent in Texas deserves to know their child is protected.”Attorney General Paxton is seeking to require Discord to default all safety settings to maximum protection for new accounts, implement age verification pursuant to the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (“SCOPE”) Act, and pay back all revenue derived from its unlawful conduct. The State is also seeking civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation of the DTPA, attorney's fees, and costs.To read the lawsuit, click here.
