Omegle shuts down online chat service amid legal challenges
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Omegle, an online chat service that billed itself as an anonymous forum to "talk to strangers," has shut down amid allegations it served as a hotbed for criminal activities. In a lengthy statement Thursday, Omegle founder Leif K-Brooks said the service is closing because combating misuse of the platform is "no longer sustainable, financially nor psychologically." In recent years, Omegle has faced a slew of lawsuits alleging the platform, which connected people via text and video chat, became a breeding ground for sexual harassment and facilitated the sexual exploitation of minors by pairing underaged users with sexual abusers. "The stress and expense of this fight – coupled with the existing stress and expense of operating Omegle, and fighting its misuse – are simply too much," Brooks said in the statement. The website shut its anonymous chat function Thursday. Omegle, founded in 2009