Discord under fire due to ‘lack of controls' enabling crime to thrive on instant messaging platform

The instant messaging and voice/video calling app Discord boasts millions of users worldwide, as it is one of the most prominent hubs for video game enthusiasts, artists, and many mainstream and niche hobbyist groups.

However, its infamous lack of controls enables criminal activity to thrive on the platform.

Established in 2015 in the US, Discord is used heavily by gaming communities, as the app was built with gamers in mind. It allows users to stream their games and screens, share how many hours they have played certain games, join up on gaming sessions via the app, and more.

Discord users can create communities themselves, which are called servers. These servers can be either private or public, small or big, or even receive special treatment from Discord with advanced moderation tools if the server is linked to important public figures.

The three countries where Discord is used the most are the US, Brazil, and India, and Discord is the world's 30th most-visited website worldwide, according to data compiled by Anadolu.

Most users on the platform are age 24 to 34, making up 53% of the user base, followed by age 16-24 at 20%. Seven out of every 10 Discord users is male.

Ever since the platform's inception and even today, bullying and hate speech have plagued Discord servers, small and large. Screenshots showcasing such behavior have recently been circulating online, which is why Discord has been under fire for not reining in such content on their platform.

Ranging from the circulation of stolen credit card information to the alleged formation of various illegal groups, criminal activities are reported to be rampant on some Discord servers.

Suspicions of such activities, and especially the alleged sharing of child sexual abuse (CSA) content, by some Turkish Discord users were detected and posted online for the public to see, which prompted the Turkish government to block access to the platform on Wednesday.

On Oct. 5, two women were killed by a 19-year-old man in Istanbul in gender-based violence, a murder which was praised on some Discord servers belonging to extremist groups, namely the incel (involuntary celibate) communities. This came to the public eye before alleged sharing of CSA content and other activities that takes place in the dark side of Discord servers.A server in which CSA content was allegedly shared was also found to have been run by minors based in Türkiye, and so their testimony will be taken in the presence of a psychologist.

Discord was also blocked in Russia after the country's communications and censorship regulator Roskomnadzor said Tuesday that it demanded the platform remove some 947 materials the agency declared illegal.

The agency said Discord was used to deceive the public for allegedly terrorist and extremist purposes.

The ban was met with annoyance from Russia's pro-war and military-linked Discord users, as the app was reportedly used to coordinate attacks in Ukraine.

- Illegal groups ‘prefer environment where their information is protected from governments'

Ibrahim Gunduzgil, head of the Cyber Security Program at Istanbul Ticaret University, told Anadolu that the lack of control on Discord and the platform's refusal to share information with governments leads to more crime and more problems.

“Persons and groups operating illegally prefer an environment where they will not be subject to bans, a place which will protect their information from governments, and where they will not face accusations – for now, Discord can provide that,” he said.

Gunduzgil said Discord is home to millions of users in Türkiye.

“The vast majority of Discord users are minors, and therefore, parents should have at least some information of this platform they are using – and the most common way predators on Discord trap children is by threatening them with information on family, home address, and even phone number, as they obtain these easily by looking up the child by their first and last name, and in turn, these predators make demands,” he added.