High court action will claim US owner allowed access to app users’ private information in breach of UK law
Grindr faces the prospect of legal action by hundreds of users who will allege that the dating app shared highly sensitive personal information, including in some cases their HIV status, with advertising companies.
The law firm Austen Hays is to file a claim on Monday in London’s high court alleging that the US owner of the app breached British data protection laws.
Continue reading...Message comes as pressure builds on Tories to take disciplinary action against MP William Wragg
Downing Street has urged MPs to be cautious when responding to unsolicited messages, after the “spear-phishing” attack that targeted more than a dozen MPs, staff and journalists working in Westminster.
Number 10 issued the warning on Monday morning, days after two police forces launched an investigation into what is being described as an attempted “honeytrap”.
Continue reading...Michelle Rowland, state and territory ministers and representatives of dating apps to discuss ‘unacceptable levels of abuse and harassment’
The scale of sexual violence linked to online dating is “difficult to comprehend”, the communications minister has said, with representatives of Tinder, Bumble and Grindr due to join a national roundtable in Sydney on Wednesday.
“People who cause harm in the digital world must be held accountable as they would for their actions offline,” Michelle Rowland said.
Continue reading...A colonial law that criminalises ‘unnatural’ sexual acts leaves LGBTQ+ people prey to social media extortion and blackmail
One day after work last month, Tom Otieno* went to a shopping centre in Nairobi to pick up groceries before heading home. He got a call from someone he had been chatting to for a week on Grindr, a social networking app for gay, bi, trans and queer people. The man had already tried ringing several times during the day while Otieno was with colleagues and was keen to meet.
Otieno, 29, mentioned where he was but said that he did not want to see the man. Then, as he was heading to his car, he got another call. As he answered it, someone approached him and said they were a police officer. Seconds later, two other officers joined him and surrounded Otieno.
Continue reading...Fine from by the Norwegian Data Protection Authority is 10% of Grindr’s global annual revenue
Grindr has been fined 100m krone (£8.6m) by the Norwegian Data Protection Authority after an investigation revealed the dating app was sharing deeply personal information with advertisers, including location, sexual orientation and mental health details.
The fine is 10% of Grindr’s global annual revenue and is particularly high because of the personal nature of the information shared.
Continue reading...The Chinese-owned app does pose data risks – but wrongly framing such fears can fuel racism and homophobia
For years, American leaders claimed that the internet would bring free markets and liberal democracy to China. Today, they are more likely to express worry about how Chinese power and Chinese money are reshaping American tech. Conventional strategic areas, like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, have received the most scrutiny. But this week the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) reached an agreement after an investigation of a different kind of target: the popular gay social networking app Grindr.
Grindr is based in West Hollywood and boasts more than 27 million users. The Chinese gaming firm Beijing Kunlun Tech Company acquired it over two years, purchasing a 60% stake in January 2016 and the remaining 40% in January 2018.
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