After a period of activity of 14 yearsthe live video chat platform Omegle, which allowed you to contact unknown users chosen at random, has announced its permanent closure. The founder announces it, Leif K-Brookswho explained the reasons behind the closure of the service.
Omegle, the closure of the video chat platform announced
The reasons for the closure could be of a legal nature. According to news reported by BBC News (via Hardware Upgrade) in recent months, law enforcement has associated the name Omegle with over 50 cases linked to pedophilia in the last two years in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Although the site has claimed that it has no control over such acts and has collaborated in the capture of some criminals, the controversy has not died down. With the introduction of the new online safety law in the UK, Omegle has found increasing difficulties.
The founder, Leif K-Brooks, acknowledged that: “It would be disingenuous to keep Omegle active without recognizing that some people they abused, even to commit unspeakably heinous crimes”. But he said he felt sorry for those who instead used it for positive purposes. But he says keeping Omegle “is no longer sustainable, either economically or psychologically,” Brooks said. He highlighted the challenge of combating the abuses of the service, underlining that he had become “just too much”.
In his suicide note, Brooks writes: “The ultimate victim is you, all of you who have used or would have used Omegle to improve your lives and the lives of others. When they say Omegle shouldn’t exist, they’re actually saying that you should not be allowed to use it; that you shouldn’t be allowed to meet random new people online.”
The founder concluded his letter with thanks to the users who used the service responsibly. But the too many scandals linked to the platform (and therefore the lack of control to avoid them) have condemned it.