Coco Chat (most recently accessible on the web as coco.gg, previously coco.fr), was an online chat site without registration and free to access (freemium), created by Isaac Steidel, and was known for being regularly publicly associated with police or judicial cases. It closed in June 2024. The site was variously referred to as Coco Chat or Cocoland.
Type of site | Online chat |
|---|---|
| Available in | French |
| Dissolved | 25 June 2024[1] |
| Created by | Isaac Steidel |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Launched | 2003 |
| Current status | Closed |
Usage
editLike many online chat platforms, the site facilitated connections between its users around public or private chat rooms and allowed everyone to exchange private messages. It was often likened to a dating site.[2]
Perhaps because it permitted its users to remain anonymous, the site was particularly popular with gay people.[3]
History
editSince its creation in 2003[4] by Isaac Steidel, the site belonged to several companies based in France or Hong Kong, all owned by a single French individual.[5] Until 2022, the site was hosted in France and was accessible at the address coco.fr. Some time after the arrest of M. Pelicot in the Mazan rapes case, Coco Chat changed its domain to coco.gg.
This website was made technically possible with the advent of Web 2.0. Previously, group discussions (known as rooms) were only possible via Internet Relay Chat, which was challenging for the general public.
In 2023, the site belonged to Bulgarian company Vinci SA, using a Guernsey domain which was first registered on 31 December 2020[6] and recorded 500,000 visits per month.[7][8]
On June 25, 2024, the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office announced the closure of the site and the judicial seizure of its servers. At the time of its closure France Info reported that it was hosted in Belgium and the closure was facilitated through Eurojust multijurisdictional cooperation [9]
Controversies and cases
editEasily accessible, simple to use, and without moderation,[4] coco.fr (and latterly coco.gg) was frequently associated with pedocriminal cases, homophobic incidents, or those related to drug trafficking.[2][8][5][10] Its lack of moderation and a message history that did not exceed a few hours made it a "hunting ground for predators" according to the organization 'Agir contre la prostitution des enfants'.[11] In October 2023, the organization SOS Homophobie called on French public authorities to shut down the site.[12]
In France, several violent homophobic attacks or those linked to drug trafficking have been connected to the use of coco.gg to identify and trap victims, notably in Dijon,[13] Mâcon,[14] Grande-Synthe,[15] Marseille,[16] and in March 2024, in Solliès-Pont.[17]
Between January 2021 and May 2024, nearly 23,000 judicial procedures were opened in connection with this platform.[18] Gérald Darmanin announced he had referred the matter to the Public Prosecutor of the Republic in a speech on 06.[19] The site was shut down in June 2024.[20]
Homophobic murder of Michel Sollossi
editIn 2018, Michel Sollossi was stabbed to death by Mohamed E., a man he had met on coco.fr, whom he had invited to his home. Although premeditation was not considered in the sentencing of the perpetrator, the homophobic nature of the attack was deemed an aggravating circumstance by the court.[21][22]
Mazan rapes
editIn the Mazan rapes case, spanning from 2011 to 2020, 51 men were convicted of raping the same woman, who was drugged by her husband and made available to them on coco.fr.[23] [24] [25]
Richard Dewitte Case
editIn September 2023, Richard Dewitte, singer of the band Il était une fois, was sentenced to 3 years in prison for corruption of a minor under 15 years old.[26] He was found guilty of making sexual propositions to a 13-year-old girl via the coco.fr site.[27]
References
edit- ^ "Le site internet controversé Coco.gg fermé par la justice, annonce le parquet de Paris". Ouest France. 2024-06-25.
- ^ a b Mertens, Darell (2022-02-08). "Coco Chat (Cocoland): Why Should We Be Careful on This Site?". Journal du Web. Retrieved 2023-12-21..
- ^ Wintrebert, Hugo (2021-12-22). "Chat Coco: Investigation on a Site Often in the Crime Section". Têtu (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ a b Fourneau, Lina (2023-06-23). "Coco.fr, A Dark Forum Between Sexual Deviances and Drug Trafficking". 20 minutes (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ a b Laurent, Samuel (2023-06-20). "Coco, a Chat Site Known for Being a Hub of Illegal Activities". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "COCO.GG WHOIS".
- ^ Poul, Maxime (2023-10-24). "What is Coco, This Online Chat Associated with Homophobic Traps?". Le Parisien. Retrieved 2023-12-21..
- ^ a b Chevalier, Justine (2023-10-29). "Coco: Pedocriminality, Homophobic Traps... How Criminals Thrive on This Free Site". BFMTV (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "The Paris Prosecutor's Office Announces the Closure of the Controversial Dating Site Coco". francetvinfo.fr. 25 June 2024.
- ^ Ruchou, Mathilde (2023-10-04). "Pedophilia, Revenge Porn, Drugs... Coco, the Forum Where Illegal Content Thrives in Freedom". La Provence (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ Martinage, Xavier (2024-04-22). "Coco: What Should We Know About This Notorious Site?". Capital. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
- ^ Derdevet, Manon (2023-11-03). "Faced with the Multiplication of Homophobic Traps, SOS Homophobia Calls for the Closure of the Coco Site". France Inter (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ Da Silva, Nicolas (2023-11-10). "Series of Assaults in Dijon: The Coco.fr Chat Site Again Implicated". France 3 Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ Scheffer, Nicolas (2023-09-26). "Mâcon: A Man Brutally Attacked in a Homophobic Trap via Coco". Têtu (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "A White March Organized in Grande-Synthe After the Fatal Assault of a 22-Year-Old Man". Le Monde (in French). 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ Bertrand, Solenne; Foricher, Alicia (2023-10-06). ""They Wanted to Kill Me": A Young Man Victim of a Homophobic Ambush in Marseille, Trapped on the Internet". BFMTV (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "Drugs and Violence: The Coco.gg Site Behind a Home-Jacking in Solliès-Pont". Var-Matin (in French). 2024-07-21. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
- ^ "Homophobic Assaults and Traps on the Coco Site: Two Individuals Close to the Administrator Arrested". Le Figaro (in French). 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
- ^ Vanlaton, Martin (2024-05-07). "Pedophilia, Prostitution, Traps... Towards the Closure of the Coco Dating Site? Gérald Darmanin Refers the Matter to the Courts". France 3.
- ^ "The Coco.gg Site, a Hub of Illegal Activities, Closed by Decision of the Paris Prosecutor's Office". Le Monde (in French). 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Micheletti, Ella (2021-09-07). "Possessed by "Demons," Mohamed E. Judged for the Murder of a 55-Year-Old Homosexual". Marianne (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ Naizot, Frédéric (2021-09-10). "Val-d'Oise: The Accused Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for the Homophobic Murder of Michel". Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ de Foucher, Lorraine (2023-06-20). ""It's His Wife, He Can Do Whatever He Wants with Her": How Dominique P. Offered His Wife, Whom He Drugged, to the Rape of At Least 51 Men". Le Monde. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ Gillett, Francesca (2024-12-19). ""Gisèle Pelicot's ex-husband jailed for 20 years in mass rape trial"". BBC. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- ^
Robins-Early, Nick (12 October 2024). "The anonymous, anything-goes forum at the heart of the Pelicot rape case". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
- ^ Paolini, Esther (2023-09-17). "Richard Dewitte, Fallen Star of the Band Il était une fois, in Court for Corruption of Minors". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 2024-07-28.
- ^ "Richard Dewitte, Music Star, Convicted for Corruption of a Minor". 20 minutes (in French). 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2023-12-21.