TW

This article contains descriptions of sexual exploitation. Alice, the woman featured in this article is an alias.

When Alice was 11 years old, she and her friends signed on to the online chat site, Omegle, during a slumber party. Omegle randomly pairs users together in online video chat. A user could be in their own country and randomly paired with someone a world away, male or female.

When Alice returned home, she decided to try Omegle by herself. At the time, Omegle was gaining infamy as an online site where people can get into virtual, sexual exploits with random strangers over the Internet. It was using Omegle by herself when the site paired her with Canadian, Ryan Fordyce.

Now a 21-year old, Alice recounts their experience about Omegle, “me and my friends went on Omegle at a slumber party. Everyone at school knew about it, but obviously no one knew what the dangers were.”

At the time, Alice was having the same anxieties many kids face. She was unsure about her place in the world, and uncomfortable with her body’s transformations. That’s when Ryan Fordyce manipulated the young girl. Fordyce gained her confidence and began coercing her into sending nude photos. Fordyce scared Alice into thinking she was complicit in child pornography which bought her silence. He would abuse Alice online for 3 years before losing interest.

Fordyce would be caught sharing pictures of minors online in 2018 by Canadian police. There were 220 pictures of Alice on Fordyce’s computer. Some of them of her where Fordyce forced her to pee. There were pictures of other minors on his computer and he would be sentenced to 8 years in prison in 2021.

Alice Sues Omegle

Omegle was created by Leif K Brooks when he was 18 as a destination for people to meet randomly online. At the time, anyone with an Internet connection could logon and be paired with a random user anywhere in the world. The site now has 73 million visitors and carries an 18 years and older policy. But it didn’t back then.

In the US, it’s hard to sue social media companies for abuse. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act removes liability from social networks for user activity, and places it on the users themselves.

Alice lawyer, Carrie Goldberg is taking a different strategy and is treating Omegle as a product and not a service. The idea is there’s a defect in the product’s design that’s leading people to be abused. Alice’s legal team argues defects in Omegle’s design makes it a hunting ground for predators.

If Alice’s case makes it to trial, it could be a watershed moment for abused users wanting to seek justice from online abuse. There are several hurdles to clear, but hopefully Alice and other victims abused on social networks will have their day in court.

– MJ