WASHINGTON, DC (November 9, 2023) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) welcomed the news that Omegle, a free online chat website best known for pairing strangers, has shut down given that it enabled online sexual interactions between children and adults.
“Omegle dug its own grave by facilitating conversations between children and adults – literally pairing children with strangers – which led to children being sexually exploited on the platform. Omegle’s entire business model was reckless, and the platform did not offer any meaningful age verification. Omegle was effectively a way for sexual predators to easily connect with children. Omegle’s demise should serve as a warning to other online platforms that companies facilitating sexual exploitation have no business existing,” said Lina Nealon, Vice President and Director of Corporate Advocacy, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
Omegle had the highest rate (22%) of online sexual interactions between children and suspected adults, according to Thorn.
NCOSE, along with the International Association of Human Trafficking Investigators, United Abolitionists, Paving the Way Foundation, Justice Restoration Center, and The Haba Law Firm, filed a joint Amicus Brief supporting a young girl who was exploited at the age of 11 on Omegle. The brief supports the girl and her family’s appeal in M.H. v. Omegle.com LLC, where they are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to reverse the U.S. District Court’s dismissal of the case.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-partisan organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
