Faisal Farooqui

Faisal Farooqui is an Indian technology entrepreneur, investor, and digital rights activist. He is the founder and CEO of MouthShut.com, a consumer review and ratings platform established in 2000. Known for building early large-scale systems for user-generated content in India, his work emphasizes data privacy, encryption, and scalable infrastructure. He co-founded Zarca Interactive, the parent company of Sogolytics and K12Insight and was an early investor in the agritech platform DeHaat.

Farooqui was a lead petitioner in the 2015 Supreme Court of India case that resulted in the striking down of Section 66A of the Information Technology Act.

Early life and education Faisal Farooqui was born in Mumbai, India, as the youngest of ten children to Idris Farooqui and Tahera Farooqui. His father, originally a farmer, came from a land-owning family whose ancestors had rebelled against British colonial rule in 1857. He later established bakeries in Mumbai, expanding the traditional joint family business. Farooqui attended St. Stanislaus High School in Bandra and completed his higher secondary education at Jai Hind College, Mumbai. He later moved to the United States, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Information Systems and Finance from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Career Farooqui began his career as a telecommunications consultant at American Management Systems in the U.S.

In 2007, Farooqui launched Dekhona.com, a localized video platform. The standalone service was later discontinued due to operational costs, and its underlying technology was integrated into MouthShut to support video-based reviews. In 2011, he beta-launched Dealface.com, an SMS-based coupon service for local businesses, which was subsequently merged into MouthShut.

Auto rickshaw advertising Farooqui is often credited with pioneering of auto-rickshaw advertising in India. Starting in 2001, he negotiated directly with drivers to paint the MouthShut.com URL on vehicle hoods as a low-cost alternative to traditional media. The campaign expanded from Mumbai to Bangalore and Delhi in 2006. According to the Hindustan Times, the visibility of these ads contributed to the wider adoption of transit media by larger Indian corporations by 2007. The petition argued that the rules required intermediaries to assess the legality of user-generated content without judicial oversight, which, according to the petitioners, led to excessive content removal. The filing cited multiple takedown requests and legal notices received by the platform, including claims from private entities seeking the removal of negative reviews.

The petition was heard alongside other challenges to Section 66A of the Information Technology Act. In March 2015, the Supreme Court of India struck down Section 66A as unconstitutional, holding that it violated the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a). The court also clarified the conditions under which intermediaries are required to remove online content, limiting such obligations to cases involving court orders or government notifications. which advocates advancing Indian Standard Time by 30 minutes to GMT +06:00 to improve energy efficiency.

Community initiatives In 2017, Farooqui co-founded the Save Joggers Park campaign, which opposed the redevelopment of a public green space in Bandra, Mumbai. He has also served as visiting faculty at institutions including the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Jamia Millia Islamia.

Association with Dilip Kumar Farooqui maintained a long-standing friendship with the actor Dilip Kumar, originating from decades-long association between their families. He managed the actor's official social-media presence, including his Twitter handle launched in 2011, and has served as a spokesperson for the family. Farooqui has described Kumar as a mentor and father figure. In 2022, he published a memoir about the actor titled In the Shadow of a Legend: Dilip Kumar, which focuses on the actor's private life and personal principles.

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. It alleged that the reviews were intended to bring the institute's reliability down.

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. 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.

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

Board membership

Board of Governors, Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) Committee, Ghalib Institute, Delhi Convenor, MoreSunlight Founding Member, Lead Angels Investment Charter Member, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE)

Philanthropy Farooqui is a founding trustee of the Tahera & Idris Farooqui Foundation, a family-run charitable organization. The foundation's initiatives focus on education, healthcare, and rural development. During the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the foundation distributed medical supplies and essential goods to underserved communities. Mentioned as one of the first Indian dotcom founders of the 21st century Received the Dr. Kalam Startup Award from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Manthan Award for Best Youth website