The Blindspot app allows users to send anonymous messages, photos and videos to their contacts without the receiver being able to trace it
A new Israeli app launched by a company with investors including Will.I.Am and Nicki Minaj has been accused of encouraging teen bullying and Internet trolls.
The Blindspot app allows users to send anonymous messages, photos and videos to their contacts without the receiver being able to trace it. It has shot towards the top of the charts in Israel but caused controversy—with politicians and campaigners calling for it to be banned as it could feed online bullying.
A committee of the Israeli parliament on Monday criticised the app, which the company says has had over half a million downloads since it was launched in late December. The brother of the country's most famous model, Bar Rafaeli, is one of the figures involved in Blindspot, which is due to be launched in the United States and Europe in the coming months.
The launch of Blindspot, owned by an Israeli firm, has been accompanied by the largest campaign for a new app in the country's recent history, said Moran Bar, CEO of the Israeli blog Geektime. Adverts showing a yellow smiley face with one eye covered by an eye patch adorn billboards across Tel Aviv and on major highways. The app is a key part of the Shellanoo Group, which is funded in part by investments from global celebrities, including music stars Will.I.Am and Nicki Minaj, as well as Russian billionaire and owner of Chelsea football club Roman Abramovich.
The Israeli anonymous messaging app developer Blindspot has been accused of encouraging teen bullying and Internet trolls The app works like other social networking channels such as Whatsapp, with users able to chat, send pictures and videos. But the identity of the sender remains anonymous.
Comment: But, PM Szydlo, governments always say that! The best means to disempower the public is to increase fear-based surveillance, own the courts and control all the media. Just ask the US!