Why the messaging app is under scrutiny – DW – October 11, 2024

Why did Russia and Turkey block Discord?

Russia’s telecommunications regulator banned Discord on Tuesday, citing the app’s inability to “encourage the use of messages for terrorist and extremist purposes, the recruitment of citizens for such purposes, the sale of drugs and… the publication of illegal to prevent information”.

Russian regulator Roskomnadzor said Discord was “actively used by criminals” and that the platform had failed to comply with an order issued on October 1 to remove nearly a thousand pieces of content.

Roskomnadzor previously fined the San Francisco-based app for failing to remove banned content.

The Kremlin has regularly targeted Western social media platforms, particularly since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Technology platforms now banned in Russia include X, formerly Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

The ban was criticized by pro-military bloggers who said Russian forces used Discord to coordinate units on the battlefield in Ukraine. According to the bloggers, the Russian soldiers were left with no effective alternative.

Moscow’s move was followed a day later by Turkey, whose communications authority BTK blocked the app nationwide after a court in Ankara ruled.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said the decision was made to “protect” children from online abuse when using Discord.

“We are committed to protecting our young people and our children… from harmful and criminal publications on social media and the internet,” Tunc wrote on X.

As Anadolu News Agency reported, Turkish prosecutors opened an investigation into Discord on October 5 over allegations that some Discord users blackmailed young children into taking nude photos of themselves and posting them in groups.

The platform also drew attention from Turkish regulators after some users posted messages in private groups hosted on Discord praising a recent double murder of two 19-year-old women in Istanbul, local media reported.

What other regulatory scrutiny is Discord subject to?

In the United States, Discord was investigated by the FBI in criminal cases in which the platform was allegedly used to contact minors and distribute child sexual abuse images.

In one famous case, the leader of the neo-Nazi gang Order of the Nine Angles was arrested after abusing young people on the app.

In June 2023, NBC News announced that there had been 35 charges against adults for kidnapping, grooming or sexual assault through alleged use of Discord over the past six years.

According to NBC News, there were an additional 165 cases in which Discord was allegedly used for so-called sextortion – where children are pressured to send sexually graphic images of themselves – or to send or receive images of child sexual abuse.

Discord was also denounced in 2017 for allowing its platform to be used to promote a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which resulted in violence and one person died.

The gunman behind the 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting that targeted Black Americans had shared his manifesto and violent plans on a private Discord server months before the attack, local media reported at the time.

Last year, a major leak of confidential US military documents detailing the status of Russia’s war in Ukraine was published on Discord.

Germany and France have raised concerns about Discord’s data collection practices and the way Discord handles user information, particularly among younger users. French regulators fined the platform 800,000 euros ($875,000) in November 2022 for failing to comply with European Union data protection rules.

Discord and other major social media networks are now facing increased scrutiny over content moderation practices under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires platforms to quickly remove harmful content.

Several US states have passed laws to improve the protection of children online, which affects Discord. Measures include stricter age verification measures and personal data protection.

What exactly is Discord and why is it so popular?

Discord was first released in May 2015, initially to allow online gamers to communicate while playing. More than half a billion people have downloaded the app and, according to the platform, it has 150 million regular users.

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, Discord management expanded the platform’s focus to virtually all online communities.

Discord enables voice and video calls as well as text messaging, and users can share content and chat in private or public virtual communities.

His most popular “server,” with 20 million followers, is about the artificial intelligence platform Midjourney.

The platform’s voice and text options are integrated so that users can jump into conversations without a direct call (like on Skype) and easily switch between SMS and voice chat.

While platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram allow the creation of single-threaded groups, Discord goes one step further and allows groups to be segmented into multiple channels.

The platform has become a meeting place for those pursuing counterculture narratives, including the incel (involuntary celibate) movement, hacker groups, and cryptocurrency investors.

Groups that espouse controversial political views or spread hate and extremist propaganda have been able to thrive on the platform as Discord compares to competitors Facebook, Instagram and

The platform insists that in recent years it has strengthened its practices against online harms, particularly those faced by young users.

Edited by: Uwe Heßler