LGBTQ social media platform, Grindr fined £8.7 m over data sale

A top gay network platform has been fined over suspected data sales to third parties. Grindr will have to prove to the Norwegian government that they didn’t breach any privacy rule.

Grindr face millions in fine over privacy data sales

Gay dating application Grindr is facing about £8.7 million in fines for indulging in illegal user data sales to marketers. Norway’s agency in charge of Data protection is planning to find the dating app about 110 million Norwegian crowns for this offense.

This fine is estimated to be about 15% of Grindr’s total revenue for the year. A very prominent social media network, which connects lesbians, transgenders, and transsexuals were given till February 16 to make its case. Grindr has failed to respond to comments on its side of the story.

However, a statement credited to a spokesperson of Grindr said the dating network hasn’t done anything wrong and has collected permission from all users in Europe. He said Grindr hasn’t breached any customer trust and its privacy policy was the best among other dating applications.

“ Regularly we update our privacy policies to accommodate other considerations, and we will continue to have a meaningful discussion with the Data Protection Commission in Norway” it concluded.

“ According to our research, there seem to be some severe breaches, and we are taking it seriously,” the Norway agency said.

Norwegian consumer commission discovered Grindr has violated privacy terms

This breach in data was discovered last February after repeated complaints from the Norwegian Consumer commission against Grindr over private data sharing. Some user information shared by Grindr according to this commission includes location, gender, age, and sexual preferences.

The Norway consumer commission said this information could make users become targets in countries where homosexual acts are illegal.

“ When an individual knows you are lesbian or transgender and is aware of your movement, you may be in harm’s way,” according to Tobias Judin, Norway Data Authority head.

He said his organization aims to regulate social platform activities.