Faisal Farooqui

Faisal Farooqui is an Indian technology entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of the review and rating platform MouthShut.com.[1]

Faisal Farooqui
Born1976 or 1977
Mumbai, Maharashtra
NationalityIndian
EducationBachelor of Science
Alma materState University of New York at Binghamton
Occupation(s)Businessman
Investor
Founder & CEO of Mouthshut.com
AwardsYoung Leaders by British High Commission

In 2002, he founded Zarca Interactive (The parent company of SoGoSurvey and K12Insight), a Virginia-based enterprise survey and feedback company.[2] He is the seed investor in DeHaat, an agri-tech company.[3]

Early life

Faisal Farooqui was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra.[4] His father owned bakeries in the city.[5] He attended St. Stanislaus High School in Bandra, Mumbai.[6] He received a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Finance from State University of New York at Binghamton.[7][4]

Faisal was elected to the University's Faculty Senate Committee and the Student government. He became the technology editor of the campus newspaper, Pipe Dream.[4]

Career

After finishing his undergraduate studies, he started working at American Management Systems as a telecommunication consultant.[6] He moved to India in 2000 and established MouthShut.com as a platform for reviews of products and services.[6][8] MouthShut popularized the concept of advertising on rickshaws for marketing purposes.[9][10]

In 2001 Faisal started the dial-the-CEO program on MouthShut where consumers could directly call the CEO. The program was later adopted by many businesses for interaction between CEOs and customers directly.[11]

In 2011, he beta-launched Dealface.com which connects consumers with local businesses. This was the first website that provided SMS-based coupons.[12][13][14] Later Dealface was integrated with MouthShut.

He was also the official spokesperson to Indian actor Dilip Kumar.[15] His family has a long-standing relationship with Kumar.[16][17] During the last days of actor Faisal released all his health updates to the media.[18][15][19][20] He received a 2006 Manthan Award for Best Youth website.[21] In several interviews in 2015, he stated that he supports net neutrality.[22][23][24] In a 2017 interview, Farooqui stated his preference for shifting India's time zone by 30 minutes.[25]

Farooqui's biographical memoir of Dilip Kumar titled In The Shadow of a Legend: Dilip Kumar was launched on 7 July 2022, the first death anniversary of Dilip Kumar.[26]

Auto Rickshaw Advertising

Faisal is credited with introducing the concept of using auto-rickshaws (also known as rickshaws or tuk-tuk) as a medium for advertising and mass media. He used the back of the hoods of autorickshaws to advertise his startup Mouthshut.com in 2001.[27][28]

Freedom of expression

As an advocate of Freedom of expression on the Internet, Faisal filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court for challenging the Information Technology Rules, 2011.[29] The Supreme Court in its verdict directed striking down the Section 66A and reading down of many other sections of the Information Technology Act of India terming it was unconstitutional.[30][31]

Board membership

Publications

Books
  • Farooqui, Faisal (2022). Dilip Kumar : In the Shadow of a Legend (A Biography). India: Om Books International. ISBN 978-9392834660.

Research papers
  • Application of market research towards proactive customer relationship management[36]

Controversies

Pune-based Kumar builders sent a legal notice to Faisal and MouthShut.com and demanded Rs.2000 crore damages for fake reviews appearing on MouthShut.com about them.[37][38]

Institute of Management and Technical Studies sent a legal notice to Faisal for fake review post on his website MouthShut about the institute. It alleged that the reviews were intended to bring the institute's reliability down.[39]

IT Act/Section 66A

Faisal was among the lead petitioners who challenged the sections of IT Act section 66 A through a petition in the Supreme Court of India in 2013.[40] In 2015, the court struck down 66A, holding it unconstitutional and diluting many other sections.[41][42][43]

Faisal's firm MouthShut has received 790 takedown notices, 240 legal notices, and 11 court cases against it.[44][1] Hence, Farooqui and Mouthshut.com decided to challenge these notices by petitioning the Supreme Court of India to read down the Intermediary Guidelines Rules 2011.[45][46][40]

In 2014, Beam Fiber, an ISP in Hyderabad and Bangalore blocked access to Mouthshut.com.[47] Farooqui challenged this illegal block and Beam Fiber later unblocked its access with an apology.[48]

Awards and honours

References
  1. Agarwal, Surabhi (26 March 2015). "Newsmaker: Faisal Farooqui". Business Standard India. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  2. "Minimising Legal Risks of Online Intermediaries while Protecting User Rights — The Centre for Internet and Society". Centre for Internet and Society (India). Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  3. "Omnivore, AgFunder invest in agri-tech startup DeHaat". VCCircle. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  4. "Alumnus credits Binghamton for inspiring his award-winning review website". Alumni Connect- Binghamton University. September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  5. Vahanvaty, Insiyah (30 June 2009). "'Work for the sake of passion, not a paycheck'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  6. Naik, Sushma (3 October 2009). "Swades, the dotcom way". Express Computer. Archived from the original on 29 October 2005. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  7. "Notable Alumni - Alumni Association | Binghamton University". Alumni Association - Binghamton University. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  8. Surabhi Agarwal (26 March 2015). "Newsmaker: Faisal Farooqui". Business Standard.
  9. Mitra, Moinak (23 March 2007). "Chunnu, Munnu left out as autos load dotcom ads". Economic Times. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  10. Seetha (25 September 2006). "Dotcoms discover a new marketing vehicle". DNA India. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  11. Krishnakumar, Aparna (20 April 2005). "Ice people: Faisal Farooqui". Business Standard India. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  12. Shanbaug, Amit (19 December 2011). "Mouthshut.com: Building funds via feedback". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  13. Saxena, Anupam (13 May 2011). "Deal Sites Launched By MouthShut, IndyaRocks; Suggestions". MediaNama. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  14. "Mouthshut.com launches Dealface.com". Moneylife. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  15. "Saira Banu was under stress after Dilip Kumar's death, spokesperson Faisal Farooqui says". The Indian Express. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  16. Hindi, TV9 (7 July 2021). "Dilip Kumar Social Media : कौन हैं फैसल फारूकी जो हर पल देते थे दिलीप कुमार की हेल्थ से जुड़ी जानकारी, जानिए क्या है एक्टर से रिश्ता". TV9 Hindi.
  17. "कौन हैं फैसल फारुकी जो देते थे दिलीप कुमार का हेल्थ अपडेट?". Prabhasakshi. 7 July 2021.
  18. "Dilip Kumar admitted to hospital". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  19. "Dilip Kumar Death: Who is Faisal Farooqui who used to give information related to Dilip Kumar's health every moment, know what is the relationship with the actor". News NCR. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  20. "Dilip Kumar Social Media : कौन हैं फैसल फारूकी जो हर पल देते थे दिलीप कुमार की हेल्थ से जुड़ी जानकारी, जानिए क्या है एक्टर से रिश्ता". TV9 Bharatvarsh (in Hindi). 7 July 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  21. "Manthan Awards announced in 14 categories". afaqs!. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  22. "Internet users represent new India with aspirations – and they want net neutrality: Faisal I Farooqui". Times of India Blog. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  23. www.ETTelecom.com. "Net neutrality: Wary of the DoT matrix - Tele-Talk by Faisal Farooqui | ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  24. "Nine Indian startup CEOs write to TRAI against zero-rating platforms". 30 December 2015.
  25. Kanti, Anurit. "Shifting India's Time-Zone By 30 Minutes Will Have Economic, Social, Health And Environmental Benefits: Faisal Farooqui". BW Businessworld.
  26. "'Yusuf sahab would often tell me about his fear of Dilip Kumar'". The Indian Express. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  27. Mitra, Moinak. "Chunnu, Munnu left out as autos load dotcom ads". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  28. Seetha. "Dotcoms discover a new marketing vehicle". DNA India. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  29. Das, Soma. "Section 66A of IT Act: We took up battle, big guys didn't, says MouthShut founder Faisal Farooqui". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  30. Agarwal, Surabhi (26 March 2015). "Newsmaker: Faisal Farooqui". Business Standard India. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  31. "We believe that a consumer's review is sacrosanct: MouthShut.com". Business Today. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  32. "Indian civil society to WhatsApp, Facebook: Ask users before they are added to group chats". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  33. "Governing Body | SFLC.in". sflc.in. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  34. Kanti, Anurit. "Shifting India's Time-Zone By 30 Minutes Will Have Economic, Social, Health And Environmental Benefits: Faisal Farooqui". BW Businessworld. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  35. Saraswathy, M. (11 November 2013). "Former IIT Bombay team members start angel network". Business Standard India. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  36. "Application of market research towards proactive customer relationship management | WARC". origin.warc.com. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  37. Kelkar, Suhit (13 June 2013). "The Irony of a Name". Open The Magazine. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  38. Agarwal, Surabhi (26 March 2015). "Newsmaker: Faisal Farooqui". Business Standard India. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  39. "IMTS Institute send a Legal notice MouthShut.com for Fake Review". imtsinstitute. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  40. Tiwary, Avinash. "Section 66A of IT Act: Entire digital ecosystem will take off from here, says MouthShut founder Faisal Farooqui". The Financial Express. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  41. Das, Soma (25 March 2015). "Section 66A of IT Act: We took up battle, big guys didn't, says MouthShut founder Faisal Farooqui". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  42. Balaji, Indira (5 August 2021). "Section 66A of the IT Act is dead; punish the police who still use it". The Federal. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  43. Sriram, Jayant (24 March 2015). "SC strikes down 'draconian' Section 66A". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  44. Datta, Saurav. "This Supreme Court petition could be a big step in the fight for Internet democracy in India". Scroll.in. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  45. Sen, Shreeja (30 August 2014). "SC seeks govt reply on PIL challenging powers of IT Act". mint. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  46. Pahwa, Nikhil (29 April 2013). "MouthShut Challenges IT Rules In The Supreme Court Of India". MediaNama. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  47. Balanarayan, N. T. (4 February 2014). "Update: Mouthshut Blocked By Beam Fibre; Issue Escalated To TRAI And DoT". MediaNama. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  48. "Mouthshut finally unblocked, will consider legal action against ISP - Exchange4media". exchange4media. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  49. "TEDxSIUHinjewadi | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
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