Discord, a chat and community tool, announced that age certification would be introduced for all new and old users starting in March and that an account that could not prove age would be restricted to the “youth fit” experience. This follows the recent initiative of Roblox to require all users to complete age validation to use their chat function. Discord’s age verification will be done through facial age assessments or by submitting documents to the “supplier partner”. Previously, in response to recent legislation, Discord had introduced similar restrictions among British and Australian users, during which time users had successfully circumvented authentication using the death stranded photo model and, as a result of hacker attacks on one of the partners, 70,000 users ‘ identity papers and personal information had been leaked.
In today’s bulletin, Discord states that, as a result of age-certified video self-images, user devices will never be removed and that “identity documents submitted to our supplier partners will be removed quickly — in most cases immediately upon age confirmation”. Discord Global Product Policy Manager, Savannah Badalich, stated that the company expected users to try to find ways to bypass age checks, but would “take as many leaks as possible”.
Accounts that fail to pass age certification will be subject to the following restrictions: Content filter:Users need to be certified as adults in order to remove the blurring of sensitive content or close the settings. Age limit space:Only users who are certified as adults have access to age-limited channels, servers and application instructions. Message requested inbox:Direct messages from a person that the user may not know are defaulted to be routed to a separate inbox, and the permission to change this setting is limited to a certified adult user. Friends ask for a reminder:Users will receive warnings from friends who may not know each other. On-stage speakers ‘ limit:Only certified adults may speak on the server’s “stage” channel.
Discord has become a key channel for marketing and communication in the game industry, and many independent developers and distributors have advocated it as a pre-publishing mode. The platform claims to have over 200 million registered users and is currently preparing for public listing.