After 14 years, the popular anonymous video chat site, Omegle, is being shut down.

This comes after a lawsuit was made against the platform, accusing it of facilitating child abuse.

The website was founded in 2009 by Leif K Brooks, when he was just 18 years old.

Brooks, admitted that fighting to prevent the platform from being misused was “simply too much”, claiming that Omegle is “no longer sustainable, financially nor psychologically”.

Omegle has a long standing reputation for being a go-to platform for sexual predators, and the sexual abuse of minors.

The lawsuit accused the website of “pairing an 11-year-old girl with a predator”.

The closure of the chat site comes at a time where the government are cracking down on the exploitation of minors on the internet, implementing the UK’s Online Safety Bill.

Brooks addressed the closure in a lengthy statement on the Omegle website, beneath an image of a tombstone reading “Omegle: 2009 - 2023”

In his lengthy statement, Brooks said:

“Over the years, people have used Omegle to explore foreign cultures; to get advice about their lives from impartial third parties; and to help alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation. I’ve even heard stories of soulmates meeting on Omegle, and getting married. Those are only some of the highlights.

Brooks’ statement went on to say:

“There can be no honest accounting of Omegle without acknowledging that some people misused it, including to commit unspeakably heinous crimes,” said Brooks. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who used Omegle for positive purposes, and to everyone who contributed to the site’s success in any way. I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep fighting for you.”