LittleGossip, a UK based social Network which allowed young people to anonymously spread rumours about their peers online, has shut down after claims of cyber-bullying.
The site, launched just four months ago in November 2010, has encountered fierce criticism, with teachers and charities saying it was fuelling bullying and causing misery.
The controversy surrounding the site was so great that last week it closed down, blaming “malicious and unwanted” comments being submitted.
The founder, which has been revealed by The Sunday Telegraph as 19-year-old Ted Nash, who describes himself as an internet entrepreneur and philanthropist, designed and launched LittleGossip in November last year.
He said he had wanted the site, which generated 33,000 hits in its first hour online, to “become another popular social networking site for light-hearted banter, as happens on the well-established sites like Facebook and MySpace.”
However, it quickly became a vehicle for abusive messages, including insulting remarks about alleged sexual and drug-taking activities of classmates and fellow students. In most cases, the target of the abuse was named, while the writer remained anonymous.