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‘Precautionary’: Bribes.fyi, website that let Indians anonymously report bribes goes on ‘break’
The website, bribes.fyi, announced that it would keep the status page live for a while longer and then shut it down permanently.
The website called “bribes.fyi”, a platform for anonymously reporting bribes users have been asked to pay, has announced it is going on an “indefinite break”, calling it a “voluntary decision”.
According to a message posted on the website, the step to shut down the website is “precautionary” to avoid any “misuse” of the platform — which went viral recently even though its exact date of creation remains unknown.
“Thanks for all the feedback and insights - we are taking an indefinite break and have no plans to enable the submissions again. This is a voluntary decision to sunset the website and a precautionary step to avoid any misuse of the platform, not a response to any complaint,” the message on the website read.
The website announced that it would keep the status page live for a while longer and then shut it down permanently, along with the permanent deletion of any recorded data.
“This was built to help people, and it would have been only possible with steady, sustainable operation, not as a viral moment. We request everyone not to circulate the names and images for their fame and views,” the message further added.
What is ‘bribes.fyi’?
Bribes.fyi had emerged as a platform where users could anonymously report details of bribes they were asked to pay, including the role, amount and department involved. According to the website, it was India’s first crowdsourced bribe registry, completely anonymous and permanently public.
Before announcing the break, the website aggregated the reported data into three sections: reports, departments and cities. It also allowed users to compare the number of reported bribes across different departments, providing an overview of the reports submitted through the platform.
The departments mentioned on the website include the Police, RTO, Revenue/Land Records, Passport Office, Municipal Corporation, GST Office, Electricity Board, Income Tax, and Food and Drug Administration.
One of the bribes reported on the website was for ₹2,000. The person who submitted the report alleged that they were asked to pay the amount to the Police Department in Pune.
“Was told to take ‘tatkal’ route, which costs 2500 to avoid multiple visits and unnecessary delays,” the person wrote while submitting the report.
Government's outreach to Gen Z
In an unrelated development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has planned to engage more with students and young adults to reset the narrative in a bid to sway the sentiments of Gen Z and young people towards the government after the CJP student protests, HT reported earlier.
“The party has identified some gaps in our communication and outreach that could have exacerbated the students’ unrest and created a perception that the concerns of the youth were not addressed… There will be more engagement with students and young adults,” said a BJP lawmaker, requesting anonymity.
“Going forward, the Yuva Morcha will be more active, there will be more programmes and events to connect with the youth. We will also reach out to the younger lot in schools, who may be young, but are clued in and active on social media,” said a second senior party functionary. “Both in Bankipur and Datia, we failed to counter a particular narrative, which hurt the party… We felt some issues did not merit a response, but in hindsight, we should have been more forthcoming in tackling those.”
