New Jersey is cracking down on popular chat app Discord after a string of incidents involving children across the state.

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced a new lawsuit against Discord Thursday, which claims the popular chat platform has misrepresented its safety protection and leaves minors vulnerable to “harassment, abuse and sexual exploitation by predators.”

“Discord holds itself out to be a company that cares about safety,” Platkin said. “But for years, it has been deceiving young users and parents about the design and effectiveness of it’s app’s safety features.”

The complaint, filed in the Chancery Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey, claims Discord knew its safety features didn’t protect minors from being exposed to inappropriate sexual content or online predators, but refused to make changes to protect young people.

In one example, Platkin cited the platform’s “Safe Direct Messaging” feature, which Discord added in 2023 to automatically scan for and block messages that contained explicit content.

“The truth is, Discord’s app was not capable of doing that, and the company knew it,” Platkin said. “Turns out the safe direct messaging wasn’t safe at all.”

Platkin also said Discord claims to prevent children under the age of 13 from accessing the platform but “barely enforces its own rule.”