Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Discord, accusing the company of misleading families while its platform enabled adults to target minors.

The attorney general's office said it began looking into Discord in October 2025 after reports tied the service to the person who killed Charlie Kirk, and after allegations that minors were exposed to sexual exploitation, extremist material and addictive product features.

The lawsuit claimed Discord marketed safety as a central priority, including statements that it was "at the core of everything we do" and "fully integrated into our design process," while deliberately making product decisions that allowed young users to become more exposed. 

Benzinga reached out to the Texas Attorney General’s office for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

What is Discord?

Discord, a communications app typically used before, during and after video gaming, requires all users to be at least 13 years of age to use the platform. The company also provides teen users and their guardians with privacy and safety tools, including Teen Safety Assist and its Family Center.

The Lawsuit Explained

The lawsuit describes a Texas case involving a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly groomed by a predator on Discord over multiple years before a sexual assault in her home. The complaint also references a 15-year-old boy who was allegedly pressured through Discord messages to create explicit content and later died by suicide.

The attorney general's office also points to a 13-year-old who died by suicide after being targeted by the "764" extremist network, which the state says operated openly on Discord servers. The filing alleged Discord did not make meaningful design changes even after warnings from federal agencies and the Texas Office of the Attorney General.

"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," Paxton said. "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."

"The lawsuit's characterization of Discord does not reflect the platform we have built or the investments we have made in user safety. Discord is a communications platform built to connect people around playing games. Users join Discord communities intentionally, based on their interests, and unlike social media, the platform has no algorithmic feed, infinite scroll, or public ‘likes’ pushing content to mass audiences," a Discord spokesperson told Benzinga. 

"Our safety systems combine advanced technology and human-led investigations, alongside user reports to help identify accounts or spaces engaged in harmful activity, including sharing exploitative and child sexual abuse materials. We provide teen users and their parents and guardians with important privacy and safety tools, including Teen Safety Assist and our Family Center. We look forward to collaborating with policymakers in working toward a safer online experience for all users on Discord and across the internet," the spokesperson added.

Paxton is asking the court to require new accounts to start with the strongest safety controls turned on by default. The state also wants age checks implemented under the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment, or SCOPE, Act.

The lawsuit seeks repayment of revenue the state says came from unlawful conduct, along with civil penalties that can reach $10,000 per violation under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). The filing also requests attorney's fees and court costs.

Companies Scrutinized

Several companies have recently faced increased scrutiny over inadequate safeguards to protect against child predators or cases where artificial intelligence companies failed to alert authorities of a possible threat, such as a mass shooting.

Earlier this year, three Tennessee teenagers filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging the company’s AI chatbot, Grok. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, claims Grok was used to create child sexual abuse material by manipulating real photos of the plaintiffs. 

Families of victims involved in a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, sued Sam Altman and OpenAI in San Francisco federal court. The plaintiffs claim that OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, failed to alert authorities to the mass shooting.

To date, multiple lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI's ChatGPT, citing that the artificial intelligence bot acted as an "unlicensed therapist," or a "suicide coach," and that the bot provided harmful advice and/or neglected to refer users to crisis counselors.

Last month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier launched an investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT, citing concerns that the use of artificial intelligence technologies and data may pose risks to public safety and national security.

Uthmeier noted that the artificial intelligence model may also have been used in a mass school shooting at Florida State University.

Photo Courtesy: Diego Thomazini on Shutterstock.com