The regime of Lula da Silva seeks to prohibit the use of the platform Discord in Brazil, a controversial initiative that arises amid a serious case that shocked public opinion.
The First Lady, Janja da Silva, is one of the strongest voices advocating for the authoritarian measure. During an official event at the Palácio do Planalto, she stated that the platform should be prohibited in the country following the death of a 13-year-old girl in Mato Grosso do Sul.
"We have to block Discord in Brazil at all costs", she asserted. She added: "I cannot accept seeing a 13-year-old girl self-harming live on the internet, on Discord. I cannot accept a country like this".
The Discord logo
The case led to the detention of five teenagers aged between 13 and 17 and the arrest of an 18-year-old, all accused of being involved in the incident that occurred on July 22 in the city of Naviraí. Authorities indicated that the group used Discord and Telegram to lure victims.
In this context, the Ministry of Justice also hinted at the possibility of taking action against the platform. The national secretary of Digital Rights, Victor Fernandes, indicated that the police requested the suspension of the service, although the Judiciary rejected that measure.
However, the proposal to block Discord is being strongly criticized. Digital security experts warn that a prohibition will not yield results but will be counterproductive.
According to these analyses, users could resort to tools like virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass restrictions and continue using the platform.
Lula da Silva
"Crimes will continue to occur, probably within Discord itself, using VPNs and other access tools that circumvent the blocks", stated Thiago Tavares, president of SaferNet Brazil.
VPNs allow users to hide their real location through encrypted connections, making it difficult to track illegal activities. According to Tavares, this type of technology is already widely used in countries where Discord is blocked, such as Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.
"In fact, this has a counterproductive effect because it ends up extending the use of these bypass tools", he warned. Additionally, crimes could expand to other legal platforms.
Thus, while Lula's regime seeks to advance with the prohibition of one of the most used platforms by young people, doubts grow about whether the measure constitutes a real solution or, on the contrary, could further weaken the state's ability to control crimes in digital environments.
