Notorious video chat site Omegle shuts down after years of criticism over child sex abuse

Notorious video chat site Omegle — which was launched to link like-minded strangers but morphed into a cesspool for child predators — was shut down Thursday.

Founded in 2009 by a then 18-year-old Leif K-Brooks, the site has faced multiple allegations over the years of being a breeding ground for child pornography and sexual abuse of minors.

The decision to pull the plug comes a week after Omegle settled a $22 million lawsuit filed by the parents of an 11-year-old girl who was randomly matched with a since-convicted Canadian pedophile,...