The e-Enfance association, a French organization focused on protecting children online, has reported a sharp rise in cases of violence against minors on the social platform Discord. According to Franceinfo, the association reviewed recordings from children who had been victims of harassment and sexual extortion. These children reached out to the national cyberbullying hotline 3018, which handles reports of online abuse, and described similar experiences. They often met on Discord servers through individuals who claimed to be minors, forming friendships or even romantic relationships based on shared interests in video games. Over time, a form of control was established, with some users manipulating their relationships to extract personal or intimate information. One victim, Léa*, a high school student, described how an adult pretending to be a young gamer encouraged her to send intimate photos. Although Discord is not allowed for users under 13, an 11-year-old named Enzo* was targeted by an adult on the platform. Some victims were even younger than 13. Another victim, Anna*, who is 13, was threatened with the exposure of her parents’ personal information. Léa was also forced to send explicit images to a 24-year-old man who allegedly targeted other teenagers through Discord and Snapchat. The man used these images to pressure her into sending more explicit content and threatened to tell her mother. Between January 1 and June 30, 2026, the 3018 hotline received 138 reports related to Discord, more than the total number of reports from the entire year of 2025. The e-Enfance association called this an "explosion" in cases of extortion, grooming, and doxing. The association also reported cases of self-harm that were filmed and shared. Véronique Béchu, director of the e-Enfance observatory, said that the reported cases have become more extreme, including sexual content featuring children forced to perform sexual acts. The association has sent an information note to the Arcom, a regulatory body, and filed a report with the cybercrime section of the Paris prosecutor’s office. Among the victims, the association mentioned the case of a 14-year-old girl who was forced to produce violent content linked to The Com, an international network of cybercriminals exploiting children through Discord. The association will act as a civil party in the trial of Rohan Rane, one of the presumed leaders of The Com, which will begin on October 5 in Paris. The presence of predators on Discord has been known since 2023, following the surge in platform use during the pandemic. Child protection associations have continued to warn about the lack of moderation on the platform. According to Elena Koung, a researcher at the State University of Pennsylvania, platforms like TikTok or Instagram use algorithms to detect and remove problematic content, while Discord relies on volunteer moderators. She compared Discord moderators to summer camp animators, noting their presence can be inconsistent. Some servers with less activity may lack active moderators, allowing harmful content to persist. The e-Enfance association reported that only a third of the content reported by the 3018 hotline has been removed by Discord. Despite this, Discord has a legal obligation under the Digital Service Act (DSA) to protect minors. Véronique Béchu stated that the failure in moderation is due to Discord requiring victims to provide a user identifier, which is only accessible if the profile is set in a specific way (developer mode), a feature most teenagers are unaware of. Once the victim blocks the attacker, the identifier becomes inaccessible, making it difficult to report the incident. The e-Enfance association has detailed these technical barriers in an information note sent to the Arcom.