Discord Inc – the online chat platform that’s drawn scrutiny as the place where the suspect in the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, allegedly documented his plans on a private server – has hired its first federal lobbyists.

       The company chose bipartisan group Monument Advocacy, which spent a total of over US$10mil (RM43.98mil) last year lobbying for dozens of companies, including tech giants Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp.

       ALSO READ: Buffalo, New York massacre suspect mapped plans on Discord app for months

       “Discord wants to make sure policy makers in Washington, D.C., understand how the service works, our efforts to keep users safe and our company’s plans for the future,” according to a statement from the company.

       The disclosure of the hiring came weeks after the man accused of killing 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo allegedly posted about his plans on a private Discord server for months, inviting others to view it about a half hour before he acted.

       The tragedy sparked investigations by the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey into whether Discord failed to properly enforce policies on expressions of extremism and hateful conduct.

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       Discord hosts more than 150 million monthly users. The platform originally became popular among gamers, but the user base has diversified and increased in popularity since its launch in 2015.

       Monument Advocacy didn’t respond to a request for comment. The five lobbyists assigned to Discord include Jeff Gary, who previously worked for Microsoft as a policy analyst on contract. – Bloomberg