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Texas Secures Injunction Against Discord Over Child Safety Measures

The Texas Attorney General has obtained a temporary injunction requiring Discord to implement age-verification and safety protocols for users in the state.

Renata Ferris

July 28, 20262 min read

tx-paxton-discord-child-safety-injunction - illustration, Jake Team LLC
tx-paxton-discord-child-safety-injunction - illustration, Jake Team LLC

AUSTIN, Texas — AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Attorney General’s office announced on July 24 that it has secured an Agreed Temporary Injunction against the messaging platform Discord. The order mandates that the company extend specific age-assurance and default safety protections to its users within Texas, aligning with standards already applied to its audience in the United Kingdom. This legal action establishes a precedent for how large technology firms must operate when conducting business in the state.

Under the terms of the injunction, Discord is required to implement several technical safeguards for Texas residents. The platform must direct messages from unknown contacts into a separate request inbox rather than delivering them directly to users. Additionally, sensitive material must be blocked for teenage accounts, with this setting locked unless the user verifies they are an adult. Spaces designated for adults only will remain inaccessible to individuals whose age has not been confirmed through verification processes.

The Attorney General’s office highlighted data suggesting significant safety concerns on the platform. In 2025, Discord submitted nearly 490,000 reports of suspected child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. During legal proceedings, the company stated it has 200 million monthly active users globally but could not specify how many reside in Texas or how many are teenagers. Investigators noted that when an account was created posing as a minor, a stranger sent a message within moments that solicited explicit sexual acts within 30 seconds.

The lawsuit stems from evidence gathered by state investigators and parent testimony. One parent reported emailing Discord in July 2025 to request the deletion of her 11-year-old son’s account; ten months later, an Assistant Attorney General logged into the still-active account in court. Texas filed the initial lawsuit on May 22, 2026, securing a temporary restraining order seven weeks prior to this injunction.

This legal challenge is part of a broader national effort. New Jersey sued Discord fifteen months earlier, and Nevada, Indiana, and Arkansas have also pursued legal remedies against the company. The case now proceeds toward trial, where Texas seeks civil penalties under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act for alleged deceptive conduct. Discord has 90 days to implement these protections and must submit progress reports to the Attorney General’s office every 30 days.

"Discord built a platform where adult predators could hunt Texas children, then looked parents in the eye and told them it was safe. It wasn't. Discord built safety measures to protect these kids. It extended these measures to children in Britain and denied them to children in Texas. That ends now. My office forced Discord to turn those protections on for every Texas child, and I will never stop fighting to keep predators away from our kids." — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-secures-historic-legal-victory-forcing-discord-protect-texas-children

Additional information: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-paxton-files-landmark-lawsuit-against-discord-deceiving-parents-and-exposing

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Renata Ferris

Renata Ferris writes about community life, schools, public safety, and local events in Richardson.

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