Omegle founder cited potential misuse as the primary reason of shutdown.
Online chat platform Omegle officially shut down earlier this month after a 14-year run. Introduced in 2009, this free service was known for randomly matching users for anonymous one-on-one conversations. Founder Leif K-Brooks cited the substantial costs of managing Omegle and addressing potential misuse as the primary reasons behind the site's shutdown. Now, the woman who forced the site to shut has spoken about the same. She said that she feels a sense of "personal pride" as "no more children will be added to Omegle's body count," as per a BBC report.
Alice or "A.M." as she's referred to in court filings was a victim of child sexual abuse on Omegle and told the BBC that she demanded the website's removal as part of an out-of-court settlement. She claims the "outpouring of gratitude" has "validated" her since people have shared disturbing stories regarding the site. She has spent years demanding compensation after being linked at random with a paedophile who turned her into his digital sex slave.
"He was able to manipulate me immediately, and very quickly I was being forced to do things that a child should not have to do," she told BBC in an old documentary on Omegle. Alice filed her groundbreaking lawsuit in 2021, about the time her abuser, Ryan Fordyce, was sentenced to eight years in jail in Canada. Over the course of three years of abuse, Fordyce gathered 220 pictures and videos of Alice, who was 11 at the time, engaging in sexual acts under his coercion. He had done the same to five other girls.
Throughout her court battle, Alice stated that she intended to proceed with a jury trial to receive around $22 million in damages. However, she now claims that it was better for her and others to settle out of court earlier this month for an undisclosed fee.
"Getting the site shut down was something I couldn't have achieved in court, so I got to tailor the outcome. Accomplishing everything we were able to in court and then obtaining this result now - probably years earlier than we could have reached a jury verdict - is something I'll never stop being proud of," she added.
Alice expressed gratitude that "Omegle doesn't have to be on my mind from sunrise to sunset" even though she will never be able to lead a normal life again.
It is to be noted that Mr Brooks in his statement about the closure of the website mentioned the woman and thanked her "for opening my eyes to the human cost of Omegle."