Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has launched a civil investigation into Discord, issuing a subpoena for records related to child safety and the platform’s handling of potential exploitation. The action was announced on Wednesday and alleges the company may have violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Discord, a widely used platform for text, audio, and video communication, has increasingly appeared in criminal investigations involving child predators and child sexual abuse material, according to state officials. Investigators say offenders often contact minors on other platforms before moving conversations to Discord.

Uthmeier said the probe aims to determine how the platform is being used by predators and what safeguards are in place to protect children. “Many of our criminal investigations into internet child predators lead to one place: Discord,” he said, adding that the state is seeking answers on how the company addresses these risks.

The subpoena requests a broad range of records, including marketing materials that describe Discord as safe for children, documents related to outreach directed at minors, and internal policies on content moderation and user safety. It also seeks complaints involving exploitation, records of how those cases were handled, and information on age-verification and parental control measures.

Additionally, investigators are requesting data on how many minors use the platform, along with records tied to criminal cases involving children. Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman said law enforcement has observed offenders using platforms such as Roblox and Discord to target minors.

The investigation follows a lawsuit filed by Florida in December against Roblox Corporation, which accuses the gaming platform of failing to adequately protect children despite marketing heavily to younger users. Officials say the Discord probe reflects broader concerns about online safety and the responsibilities of tech companies to prevent exploitation.