Austin, Texas – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a landmark lawsuit against Discord, accusing the company of misleading parents and the public about the safety of its platform while exposing children in Texas to predators, sexual exploitation, extremist content, and other online dangers.
The lawsuit marks a major escalation in Paxton’s broader scrutiny of digital platforms used by minors. According to the Attorney General’s Office, Discord presented itself as a platform where safety was deeply built into the product, while its actual design choices allegedly left young users open to contact from dangerous strangers and harmful online communities.
At the center of the case is the claim that Discord told users, families, and the public that safety was “at the core of everything we do” and “fully integrated into our design process.” Paxton’s office argues those statements were deceptive because the platform allegedly made product decisions that pushed users toward broad exposure instead of strong protection.
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The lawsuit says Discord defaulted account settings toward maximum visibility and access, creating conditions that made it easier for predators to reach minors. It also accuses the company of relying on unpaid volunteers for some of its most important safety functions. The Attorney General’s Office further points to a platform structure that federal prosecutors have described as “a hunting ground to find, manipulate, and sextort our most vulnerable.”
Paxton’s investigation into Discord began in October 2025 after reports that the platform had been used by the assassin who murdered national hero Charlie Kirk. His office also cited reports that Discord was addictive and had exposed minors to sexual exploitation and extremist material.
The lawsuit describes several serious cases that Paxton’s office says show the consequences of Discord’s design choices. In one case, a 13-year-old Texas girl was sexually assaulted in her home by a predator who had groomed her on Discord over several years. In another, a 15-year-old boy was coerced into creating explicit material through Discord’s messaging system and later died by suicide. A third case involved a 13-year-old who died by suicide after being targeted by the “764” extremist network, which the lawsuit says operated openly on Discord servers.
The Attorney General’s Office says Discord had direct notice from multiple federal agencies and from the OAG itself, but still did not change the design choices that allegedly made exploitation possible. Paxton’s lawsuit argues that the company continued to present itself as safe while failing to put stronger protections in place for children.
“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.”
Through the lawsuit, Paxton is seeking several major changes. He wants Discord to make all safety settings default to the highest level of protection for new accounts. He is also seeking age verification under the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment, or SCOPE Act, a Texas law aimed at giving parents more control over children’s online activity.
The state is also asking Discord to return all revenue allegedly gained through unlawful conduct. In addition, Texas is seeking civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, along with attorney’s fees and costs.
The lawsuit places Discord’s safety practices under a sharp legal spotlight and frames the case as a test of how far technology companies can go in marketing platforms as safe while children remain exposed to serious online threats. For Paxton, the case is not only about one company’s internal policies, but about whether parents can trust the promises made by platforms that millions of young people use every day.
