How Discord Works with Law Enforcement (original) (raw)

What is Discord?

Discord is a voice, video, and text chat app that's used by tens of millions of people ages 13+ to talk and hang out with their communities and friends.

The vast majority of servers are private, invite-only spaces for groups of friends and communities to stay in touch and spend time together. There are also larger, more open communities, generally centered around specific topics. Users have control over whom they interact with and what their experience on Discord is.

More information about Discord and our community goals can be found here.

Contact Information and Service of Process

Please submit your inquiry in our Government Request Portal at: https://app.kodex.us/discord/signin.

Our online portal will guide you through how to submit a request. You will need to:

1. Verify your email address via the link sent to your email address (only valid law enforcement or government domains will be accepted);
2. Fill in the required fields in the webform;
3. Upload a copy of any relevant documents in PDF format (for example, a copy of the subpoena or search warrant, as well as any non-disclosure order you may have).

Our online portal also allows you to add information, ask us questions, and download the information when it is available.

All legal correspondence should be sent on company or agency letterhead with requisite signatures included.
We will not comply with overly broad or vague requests.
The legal process should identify the user for whom information is being requested.
Users should be identified by their 17-18 digit user identification number.
If the user identification number is unattainable, a username and four-digit discriminator should be provided.
Note: Usernames are changing on Discord. New usernames are lowercase, alphanumeric, limited to certain special characters, and do not have discriminators. During the transition from old usernames to new usernames, some users will still have old usernames with discriminators (#0000) while other users will have new usernames. For more information see our Help Center article here. You can also read the blog post about this change from our co-founder here.
Instructions on how to identify a user can be found here.
Be advised, users are allowed to change their usernames and four-digit discriminators, thus responses rendered by Discord may list different usernames and four-digit discriminators than those originally requested.
All legal processes should comply with 18 U.S. Code § 2701-2712.

Emergency Requests

If you believe that an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury to any person requires disclosure without delay, please submit an emergency disclosure request via our Government Request Portal at: https://app.kodex.us/discord/signin. You will be asked to provide the factual basis for the request so that we may evaluate it under 18 U.S.C. § 2702.
We provide emergency disclosure responses only when enough information is provided for Discord to, in good faith, believe that the exigent situation requires disclosure of user information, as outlined in 18 U.S.C. § 2702.
We do not disclose information for emergency requests unless they are from law enforcement.

Preservation Request

Discord accepts requests to preserve records pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2703(f).
We take steps to preserve account records once proper requests have been received and processed.
Content and non-content information is preserved for 90 days, from the time of processing, and can only be extended for an additional 90 day period, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2703. In certain cases, an additional 90 days may be requested.
Please reference the initial preservation request by providing the assigned ticket number and clear date range when sending legal process to obtain the preserved information.
We are not permitted to disclose user information when solely in receipt of a preservation request.

International Legal Requests

For requests of user data other than EEA or UK user data: Discord Inc. is headquartered in the U.S. and subject to U.S. law which may prevent the production of certain information. Requests should be addressed to Discord Inc. Discord Inc. will respond to valid legal process issued by a U.S. court and properly served on it in the U.S. To achieve this, you will need to work through the applicable process for international legal assistance. See 28 U.S.C. § 1782. For more information, you may wish to contact the Office of International Judicial Assistance at the U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/civil/evidence-requests.
For requests of EEA or UK user data: Discord Netherlands BV is the data controller for users in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom. Requests for information should be addressed to Discord Netherlands BV and requested via the European Investigation Order under Directive 2014/41/EU where possible. Where not possible, requests for information should be directed through the appropriate Dutch authorities by way of other mutual legal assistance agreements.
Orders against illegal content under Article 10 of the EU Digital Services Act should be submitted through our Government Request Portal (Kodex) under the DSA - Illegal Takedown section: https://app.kodex.us/discord/signin
If international legal process includes reports of child exploitation, Discord will investigate and take steps to archive these materials, remove them from our platform, and report any exploitative content.

Child Safety Policy

When we are made aware of potential Child Safety concerns on our platform, our Trust & Safety team reviews the content and reports the content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) or law enforcement where appropriate as required by 18 U.S.C. § 2258A. NCMEC will then work with local and international law enforcement as necessary.
User accounts reported to NCMEC are archived and banned from our platform at the time of reporting.
When submitting legal processes prompted by NCMEC reporting, include cybertip number and all of the user information provided.
Law enforcement officials should indicate if a request pertains to a NCMEC report in the body of the email.

Data Retention Policy

Discord does not require and generally does not possess names, addresses or other personal information, as we do not require that information on sign-up. The subscriber information that we possess is limited to an email address, and, if the user is a paid user, we might have limited billing information. In certain circumstances, we might also have a phone number the user has verified.
Due to privacy concerns, Discord removes most user identifiers once a user is deleted, including username and discriminator.
Users can always be located by their 17-18 digit UID number.
More information regarding Discord's data retention and user privacy policy can be found here.
Questions regarding Discord's privacy policy can be sent to privacy@discord.com.

User Notification

It is our policy to notify Discord users and provide them with a copy of the legal process seeking their account information. We do not provide notice if we are prohibited by law or under exceptional circumstances such as child sexual exploitation investigations or threat to life emergencies. We ask that your non-disclosure order (18 U.S.C. § 2705(b)) or similar legal authority include a time limitation, as we provide delayed notice upon expiration of this limitation and when we believe the exceptional circumstance no longer exists. If no non-disclosure provision or exception is included with your legal request, Discord will confirm with law enforcement before providing user notice. In order to expedite your legal request for account information, we ask that you include or inform us initially of one of the following:

Clearly state you have no objection to Discord providing user notice.
Include a time limited non-disclosure order (18 U.S.C. § 2705(b)) or similar legal provision with your legal request.
Provide us with details on why an exceptional circumstance exists (e.g., child sexual exploitation, threat to life emergency) in providing user notice.

Note:

Discord reserves the right to not notify users if doing so would pose a risk to Discord or its users general welfare.

If your data request places Discord on notice of an ongoing or prior violation of our Terms of Service, Community Guidelines or other policies, we may take action to prevent further abuse, including account termination and other actions that may notify the user that we are aware of their misconduct.

Cost Reimbursement

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2706, Discord may require cost reimbursement if the legal process is unduly burdensome or has associated cost.

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‎EU Contact Points

Under EU Regulation 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act), Discord’s Article 11 contact point is our Government Request Portal (Kodex): https://app.kodex.us/discord/signin. English or Dutch may be used to communicate through our contact point.
Under EU Regulation 2021/784 (Terrorist Content Online Regulation), Discord's Article 15 contact point is counterterrorism@discordapp.com and Discord's Article 17 legal representative is Discord Netherlands BV.

Still have questions?

If needed for mail service, our physical address is as follows:

For requests relating to all users other than those in the EEA or UK:
Discord, Inc.
444 De Haro St, Suite 200
San Francisco, CA, 94107
United States of America

For requests relating to users in the EEA or UK:
Discord Netherlands BV
Schiphol Boulevard 195,
1118 BG Schiphol,
Netherlands

If serving process by mail, please direct the mail to the attention of the Legal Department.

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Contents

What is Discord?Contact Information and Service of Process Emergency Requests Preservation Request International Legal Requests Child Safety Policy Data Retention Policy User Notification Cost Reimbursement EU Contact Points