(San Francisco) Banned in recent hours in Russia and Turkey, Discord is the stronghold of “ gamers » and anti-system Internet users, attracted by its decentralized system with less strict controls.
On Wednesday, the Turkish Information and Communications Technology Authority (BTK) suspended the application, to “protect” young people from “harmful and criminal publications”, according to Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunç.
Turkey was preceded on Tuesday by Russia, whose telecommunications regulator, Roskomnadzor, banned the platform for “violation” of Russian legislation regarding the use of messaging “for terrorist and extremist purposes”.
Discord was already banned in the Sultanate of Oman, Iran, mainland China, the United Arab Emirates and North Korea.
A space for “ gamers »
Born in 2015 in San Francisco, Discord was, initially, mainly intended for video game enthusiasts, “ gamers ”, offering them a space to converse during a game.
Beyond that, the platform has quickly become a refuge for many Internet users fleeing traditional social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or X.
These users particularly appreciated the less polite operation of Discord, with its virtual places called servers, in which they could chat and meet people with interests common to theirs.
The platform allows audio and video calls as well as written messaging and offers the possibility of sharing content, privately or publicly.
Freedom of expression
As on the social network Reddit, the moderation of exchanges and content relies on Internet users creating servers, a system considered more flexible than in other applications.
Populated by “rebels and “nerds””, who see it as an oasis of counterculture, Discord has its “dark corners”, describes Jason Davis, professor at Syracuse University.
Its decentralized structure, which limits the collection and use of data by the operator, is a major asset for the platform, in the eyes of many of its users.
The group, which is independent and unlisted, claims 150 million monthly users and 19 million active servers.
Its turnover was estimated at around $600 million annually by the Wall Street Journal.
The platform draws its revenue from partnerships, an optional paid subscription formula called Nitro and this year launched advertising for free accounts.
Drifts
Discord maintains that the protection of its users is a priority for the platform and affirms that violations of content regulations can result in the suspension of a user or a server.
But several American parents accused the network of letting adults contact minors, saying they were unaware of the possible activation of a mode facilitating parental control.
Discord also made headlines earlier this year when a member of the US Air Force was indicted for disseminating classified documents through the platform.
According to cybersecurity specialist Intel 471, the network is also a den of hackers or aspiring hackers.
In 2017, the site also made headlines after it was revealed that Discord had been used by white supremacist activists to coordinate ahead of a far-right rally in Charlottesville, which left one person dead.