A Girl, 13, Died During a Livestream. Brazil Ordered Discord to Shut Off Live Video
A 13-year-old girl in Brazil died by suicide during a livestream in which, investigators say, members of an online group urged her on. On Aug. 12, 2026, the country’s data-protection regulator ordered Discord to shut off live video nationwide within three business days, saying the platform had failed to shield minors from content promoting self-harm and violence.
Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority ordered the messaging platform Discord on Aug. 12 to switch off its livestreaming tools across the country within three business days, after a 13-year-old girl died by suicide during a live video in which, investigators say, members of an online group encouraged her to harm herself, Al Jazeera reported. The regulator, known by its Portuguese initials ANPD, said the evidence showed the company had failed to take reasonable steps to protect children and adolescents from content promoting violence, self-harm and suicide, according to Al Jazeera. Discord itself will stay online in Brazil; only its live-video features are affected, Bloomberg reported.
What the regulator ordered
The order gives Discord three business days to suspend Go Live, its screen- and camera-sharing tool, along with equivalent video features, and says they must stay off until the company can show it has put effective technical, security and governance safeguards in place for users under 18, Al Jazeera reported. Discord faces fines of up to 50 million reais, about 9.7 million U.S. dollars, for each violation of the measure, according to Al Jazeera. The ANPD issued the step as a preventive measure under Brazil’s digital statute for children and adolescents, which obliges platforms to anticipate and reduce foreseeable risks to minors, the authority said in announcing the decision.
The death that prompted it
The girl died in central-western Brazil, and investigators say members of an online group encouraged her to take her own life during the broadcast, Al Jazeera reported. Five teenagers were arrested in connection with her death, according to Al Jazeera.
Discord’s response
Discord pushed back on the order, calling it premature and saying it was still working to identify those responsible in the case under investigation, Al Jazeera reported. The company said it had investigated and removed the invite-only group involved and was continuing to cooperate with law enforcement, according to Al Jazeera. The ANPD said Discord cannot review live video while it is airing and instead relies on user reports and automated systems the regulator deemed inadequate to catch harm as it unfolds, the ANPD said.
A wider reckoning over live video
The action lands amid intensifying scrutiny of social platforms in Brazil over the safety of minors. Citing figures from the nonprofit SaferNet Brasil, the ANPD said reports of online crimes against children and adolescents rose 54 percent in the first seven months of 2026 from a year earlier, to 406 from 264, the authority said. Live video has become a particular focus for regulators because harmful content can reach an audience before moderators or software catch it. The case sharpens a question regulators increasingly press on platforms: who is accountable when the worst of a feed plays out live, and no one stops it in time.