Omegle, OmeTV, Kick, Discord, X/Twitter: The Online Wild West where Child Predators thrive
Hello readers.
Ok, let's collectively take a deep breath.
We are about to discuss CSAM (child sexual abuse material), CP (child pornography), revenge porn, child predators, and the increasing number of predators operating online to entrap minors into illegal activity for their satisfaction without the fear that they will be prosecuted for said illegal activity.
This all started from a commentary video I saw from the legend Hasan Piker (known as HasanAbi on YouTube and Twitch), who covered the video created by the YouTube channel SomethingAboutChickens where the creator exposed the Kick (competitor platform to Twitch) creator Riotlol (real name Omar Aly) for running a daily stream where he pressures underage girls to expose themselves to him without the victims knowing that they are being shown on stream, as well as offering to fly them out to Miami, where he resides, to meet up in person. The way that Omar sourced his victims was by using the newly created OmeTV platform, which is basically a recreation of the now-defunct Omegle video chat app where users could connect with random people across the world who were also logged into the app at the time. Omegle was shut down in late 2023 after multiple difficulties running the site, which included not only becoming known as a watering hole for perverts and paedophiles but also being hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit in regards to a minor being blackmailed by a paedophile from Canada into digital sexual slavery by using their platform.
Outside of this disgusting, predatory behaviour, Omar, with the knowledge and approval of his girlfriend Madsy (name used to introduce herself on stream), was screen recording his victims while grooming them into exposing themselves on camera, and then posting these clips, along with those viewers who themselves were screen recording, into a private Discord server where Omar was charging users to access the illegal content (CSAM and CP).
Essentially, what we have on our hands here is a criminal network of child predators and paedophiles, organised by this Kick streamer using Discord to store and share illegal content of minors without seeing legal action being taken against him, let alone those online services (Kick, OmeTV, and Discord) taking action and accountability to ban the streamer from their platforms.
Why? Well, because of the number of views, of course.
In the report done by SomethingAboutChickens, he found that an executive at Kick was in fact encouraging Omar (Riotlol) to keep his streams going due to their popularity without having any clue about what exactly he was doing on the stream. I hope someone then told the guy what this criminal was up to, but even if he knew, the Kick executive didn't do anything to stop Omar from streaming or report him to the authorities.
The report also detailed an instance where one of the victims found their nude images on Twitter/X and realised that she was entrapped and exposed by Omar. The victim managed to get back on a stream with Omar and told him that she was contemplating suicide due to what had happened and the fact that her parents were aware of the images being shared in such a manner. During that stream, Omar was absolutely flippant about what had happened and tried to talk her down about being so upset about it along with his criminal posse, including a guy using the online handle 'citrus'.
Although they stated that they didn't wish for her to commit suicide, they had no awareness of the gravity of the harm they had caused to this young girl and continued to joke about the incident as well as speak about wanting to fly her to Miami (where they're both based).
Where are the safety nets for minors on these types of platforms? How are young men like this able to function day-to-day without thinking that what they're doing is unethical and illegal? Where are the consequences for this type of illegal activity and justice for the victims?
I know bigger social media platforms are now being pushed in court to create better protections for minors on their platforms after numerous cases of minor suicides due to online bullying and grooming instances. Truth be told, I mainly think these safeguards are just now being taken seriously and starting to be deployed due to lawsuits that would affect these corporations' bottom lines. But where is the human decency? Why is the standard of business, especially big business, not taking the social toll into account?
I think it's time for regulatory change nationally to impose fines and sanctions on social media companies that do not have any safeguards in place to monitor their platforms for illegal activities or where existing safeguards have been ineffective. I myself do not see the need for platforms like Omegle and OmeTV to exist, but if there is a legit demand for these types of platforms, can we agree that minors and paedophiles should be kept off the website and that moderators are hired to file criminal reports against users engaging in illegal behaviour while using their platforms?
Law enforcement at all levels needs to be aware of the issue and educate themselves about the wild, wild west that is cyberspace, especially social media spaces, where young people are able to connect with others who they do not know in real life; a space where they cannot verify the identity of anyone they're communicating with; and where they are susceptible to the dangers of grooming, especially if the child is vulnerable due to their life circumstances like feeling lonely and disconnected from their family and people their own age in school, or experiencing low self-esteem. This can easily lead to minors engaging in risky behaviour, including meeting up with predators in real life without the knowledge of their parents or other trusted adults.
Earlier this year, Omar had taken down the illegal Discord server, and his streams on Kick no longer included predatory behaviour. Later, he was permanently banned from the streaming platform.
Originally published on May 19, 2024
References and other helpful resources:
To Catch A KICK Predator | Hasanabi Reacts to SomethingAboutChickens -
Hasan Reactions
(Original exposé video) To Catch A KICK Predator - SomethingAboutChickens
Why Riotlol Get Banned? - Medium - https://medium.com/@chrislewis.seo/why-riotlol-get-banned-3bd6d0dba5ff
Instances of abuse caught on Omegle - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omegle
Social Media CEOs grilled by US Senators over safety issues - 1News
WATCH: Applause Breaks Out During Marsha Blackburn's Relentless Grilling Of Mark Zuckerberg - Forbes Breaking News
I Was Part of a Child Pornography Ring - Other People's Lives
Sextortion on the rise - Newshub
Groomed at 13 years old - We're All Insane