Discord Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

Discord is a real-time communications app that allows users to communicate with each other via text, voice, or video. There are specialized communities within Discord, including servers or channels that people can join based on their interests. You can also create private communities and take part in spontaneous real-time communication or video sharing.

More than 200 million people use Discord each month, including many teens and young adults, as Discord is open to users ages 13 and over. While Discord originally got its start by allowing gamers to communicate with each other, young people from all walks of life find the platform appealing.

Unfortunately, some of the children who use Discord were exposed to sexual predators or sexually explicit images, videos, or other content on the platform. Now, parents of those children are suing Discord for failing to take reasonable steps to protect their children from harm.

Singleton Schreiber is representing families pursuing these claims and filed the first lawsuit nationally against Discord for allowing a predator to access a minor. Our Discord child sexual abuse lawyers can help you to understand your legal rights in these difficult situations and can work with you to pursue justice. 

To find out more about how we can help, give us a call or contact us online today to schedule your free consultation.

How Discord put young users at risk

Discord is popular, in large part, because it is a flexible and simple way to communicate. Unfortunately, some of its features and functionality created conditions where children were put in harm's way.

Here are some of the issues with Discord that allegedly resulted in child sexual abuse and prompted parents to sue:

• Lack of meaningful age verification: Discord allegedly fails to properly verify the age of users. Younger children can join the platform and evade safeguards that should prevent them from joining private communities or exchanging private messages. Predators can pose as younger users and groom children on the platform.
• Inadequate moderation: Discord has some proactive moderation programs, but some parents claim the programs are inadequate, and that the company relies too much on users to ensure that the servers being created, messages sent, and images shared are not exploitative of children and don't expose children to inappropriate sexual conduct.
• Ineffective safeguards: Parents allege Discord doesn't have appropriate processes for preventing children from accessing channels that host harmful content or explicit content. Discord also makes it easy for young users to connect to others via DM, creating opportunities for young people to exchange pictures and videos with predators.
• Lack of parental controls: Discord offers only limited options for parents to monitor or control how their children are using the app. These options are deficient and can easily be changed by the child.
• Default configurations of privacy settings that fail to protect children: While Discord has the option to turn on privacy settings that prevent users from sending or receiving direct messages, these settings do not default to being on when an account is created for a minor.
• Failure to respond to parental concerns: Some parents have reported that Discord does not take action when they are alerted that predators are grooming or preying upon children on the platform, even in circumstances where the account holder was a registered sex offender.
• Easy access to private servers:  When a child enters a private server, they can communicate without public or parental oversight. This can provide predators with opportunities to show inappropriate material to children without oversight.
• Video chat and screen sharing can be difficult to monitor: Offenders sometimes encourage young users to participate in these forms of communication to either build trust or to participate in unsafe conversations. Screen sharing and video chats can also be used to share explicit material. Parents, in some cases, are unaware that these features even exist.

These flaws have resulted in children facing sexploitation and being exposed to inappropriate content online. In some cases, reports also indicate that children were groomed and kidnapped by predators who found and communicated with them on Discord. 

Discord child sexual abuse lawsuits

In response to the problems and risks presented by Discord, many parents have begun filing civil lawsuits against the company. The first lawsuit where abuse began was filed by our team in Ohio in September 2025. The complaint alleges that Discord’s negligence allowed the sexual exploitation of a 17-year-old girl by a convicted sex offender. Since then, additional lawsuits have been filed across the country, raising similar allegations. 

In some cases, parents are suing both Discord and Roblox, as Roblox has also allegedly played a role in exposing minors to inappropriate sexual content and grooming. In some cases, predators found children on Roblox and then encouraged the children to move over to chat on Discord.

The first joint Discord/Roblox lawsuit was filed in 2022 after an 11-year-old girl attempted suicide multiple times because adult men had financially and sexually exploited her through the Roblox and Discord apps. Snapchat and Meta were also listed as defendants in this initial claim because those platforms were also used to facilitate abuse of the child.

The victim in the initial 2022 case reportedly selected a Discord setting called "Keep Me Safe," which she believed would monitor her activities and prevent her from being harmed.

In addition to lawsuits brought by parents on behalf of their children, individual states have also begun filing lawsuits against Discord because of its business practices that put children at risk of sexual exploitation, exposure to sexual materials, and even offline kidnapping and sexual assault.

“Discord markets itself as a safe space for children, despite being fully aware that the application’s misleading safety settings and lax oversight has made it a prime hunting ground for online predators seeking easy access to children,” said Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

“These deceptive claims regarding its safety settings have allowed Discord to attract a growing number of children to use its application, where they are at risk. We intend to put a stop to this unlawful conduct and hold Discord accountable for the harm it has caused our children.”

Grounds for a Discord child sexual abuse lawsuit

Those who are pursuing a Discord child sexual abuse lawsuit must state legal grounds to hold the company accountable. The claims are typically being pursued under product liability laws that hold manufacturers legally liable for problems with the products that they provide to buyers. 

Some of the legal arguments for holding Discord accountable include:

• Negligence: Discord may have failed in its obligations to impose proper safeguards to protect children from predators.
• Negligent Misrepresentation: Discord marketed to parents and families promising that it was a safe haven for children and that it took steps to prevent predators from using the platform to exploit children. These representations were false because Discord knew about the epidemic of predators on its platform and failed to take effective steps to address it.
• Defective design: Defects in Discord's design, such as a failure to restrict DMs to minors or the mechanisms that made it easy for predators to reach children, could give rise to liability.  For example, failure to put proper age verification in place and a lack of barriers to minors entering into private servers or video chats may be inherent defects in the app.
• Strict liability: Companies can be held legally liable for losses when their products cause harm when used as intended -- even if the company was not specifically negligent. If Discord is inherently harmful to children in the way it operates, strict liability laws could apply to hold the company accountable for the damage done.
• Consumer fraud: Discord may have misled parents and users about the level of protection it provided or the services and support it offered to young users.
• Intentional infliction of emotional distress: By failing to take parental reports seriously and not otherwise taking steps to ensure that minors were not exposed to harmful content, Discord may be responsible for intentionally causing emotional harm to vulnerable young users.

Singleton Schreiber, LLC is representing plaintiffs involved in Discord lawsuits. We can evaluate your case and help you to develop a legal strategy that incorporates the strongest possible arguments for legal liability with comprehensive evidence and expert testimony so you can maximize your chances of a successful lawsuit.

Compensation for Discord child sexual abuse

Children who were groomed, exposed to sexually suggestive content, encouraged to share sexual pictures, sextorted, financially abused, or physically harmed may have suffered very significant damages.

Parents can pursue legal action on behalf of affected children in order to hold Discord liable for economic and non-financial losses. While parents will need to provide proof both that Discord breached a legal obligation and that their children were harmed as a result, a successful lawsuit could result in compensation for:

• Medical bills: Children may require therapy or other mental health support as a result of Discord sexual abuse. Any child who met a predator in person as a result of their contact on Discord could also experience serious physical harm that results in expensive medical treatment. Discord should be held responsible for paying for any past or future medical care made necessary by the harm the child experienced due to the platform.
• Pain and suffering: Pain and suffering can occur when a child experiences physical or mental harm as a result of the incidents on Discord. It will be important to understand the extent of the damage done and the discomfort and suffering experienced by the child due to the interactions with predators on Discord.
• Emotional distress: Emotional distress is a common and expected reaction when a child is groomed, shown sexually explicit material,  or is otherwise the subject of sexual abuse or assault. The emotional after-effects of the abusive behavior could be lifelong and could result in the child experiencing PTSD, anxiety, and depression, among other issues. Discord should be responsible for covering losses related to emotional damage.
• Actual expenditures: Parents and children may sometimes incur out-of-pocket expenses due to the sexual abuse facilitated by Discord. For example, if parents moved to help get their children to safety or if parents had to take time from work and miss wages due to the fallout of the sexual abuse incident, then they should be compensated for this actual financial loss.
• Punitive damages: Punitive damages are not meant to compensate plaintiffs for actual losses but are instead intended to punish defendants. Punitive damages are not available in all claims, but could be available if Discord is found to have engaged in egregiously negligent behavior that created a significant risk to its child user base.

Singleton Schreiber, LLC is committed to helping you prove the extent of your child's damage. We will do all we can to maximize your chances of being compensated for all economic and non-financial losses so you get the money your child needs to rebuild and move forward.

Are you eligible for a Discord child sexual abuse lawsuit?

You may be able to file a Discord child sexual abuse lawsuit on your child's behalf if you can prove that:

• Your child was a Discord user
• Your child experienced damage because of Discord's policies, such as exposure to inappropriate material, inappropriate sexual conversations, sextortion, or physical harm. 
• Your child sustained losses that can be compensated for.

You may be able to pursue an individual claim or, in some cases, may be able to have your case become part of a multi-district litigation.

MDLs are common in product liability claims when many people were harmed by the same dangerous product. MDLs allow everyone to keep their own individual claim, but many cases related to the same defective product are consolidated before one judge who can rule on common issues.

Singleton Schreiber, LLC can help you to determine what legal approach makes sense for you, given the extent of your losses and the current litigation ongoing against Discord.

Finding the right Discord child sexual abuse lawyer

Proving that Discord should be held liable for the harm children experienced on their platform can be complicated. These cases are highly technical, and the laws are still evolving regarding these types of claims, as more parents and families realize the danger online sites and apps pose to their children.

Singleton Schreiber, LLC is representing families affected by Discord child sexual abuse. Our firm understands the legal arguments to make, is developing strong cases, and is committed to fighting to hold big tech companies responsible when they harm the vulnerable young children most in need of online protection.

Our firm doesn't charge legal fees unless we win your case, and we will offer compassionate advocacy, keeping you informed at every step. To find out more about how we can help you, contact a Discord child sexual abuse lawyer today.