Grindr, a dating application, has been fined a considerable amount. Grindr will be fined 100 million Norwegian kroner for revealing the sexual orientation of users.
The 100 million Norwegian kroner is equivalent to $ 11.7 million. The agency Norwegian Data Protection Authority has accusations against Grindr.
According to the reports, Grindr is sharing the personal details of the users with the advertisers.
There is no consent of Grindr’s users in this. It is unethical on grounds where someone’s sexual preferences are getting tarnished like this. An application should safeguard the privacy of the users.
Moreover, Grindr is sharing the personal details of the users with their advertisers.
What is the reason behind taking such actions against Grindr?
Last year in January, the Norwegian Consumer Council petitioned three complaint files against Grindr. The complaint was regarding the sharing of personal information of users with the advertisers.
That personal information included the user’s location, the device they are using, and many more. One of those advertisers was MoPub. With that said, MoPub is the advertising company of Twitter’s mobile ads.
Grindr fined $11.7 million for illegally sharing private user information with advertisers https://t.co/gKiVYw6c6o pic.twitter.com/e9BW3KGO87
— The Verge (@verge) January 26, 2021
Meanwhile, connecting those dots with the individual’s personal information could indicate the user’s sexual orientation without their consent.
Moreover, after so much warning or complaints, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority thought of taking action against all of this. This practice by Grindr is unethical and needs serious action.
As per the reports, Grindr has the option of commenting on the ruling till 15th February.
Bill Shafton, the VP of Grindr’s legal and business affairs, commented on this ruling by saying that Grindr has always practiced enhancing the privacy laws.
The vulnerability of this platform
As per his concern, Grindr is a platform that is very much concerned with the user’s details, and every time there is a set of new privacy regulations and terms.
Bill Shafton is looking forward to having a productive dialogue with the Norwegian Data Protection Authority.
Simultaneously, it is not in the great image of protecting the user’s private information. Back in April 2018, it was exposing the HIV statuses of the users.
The application revealed the HIV status of the users to two other companies. But now, they have stopped doing all of that.
Meanwhile, Back in October, some incidents showcased that if someone knew your email address, he/she could access your account.
Moreover, a committee of the US government appeals to change the owner of this dating site. US government build a committee, in which the sole motto was to protect the nation’s security concerns.
In March 2020, Grindr’s investor group took over the ownership. San Vicente Acquisition grabbed the right of this platform.
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