Match Group to pay $650,000 over dating app background-check disclosures
Settlement requires clearer information for New Jersey users of Tinder, Hinge, Match, and other platforms
The Match Group will pay New Jersey $650,000 and change the criminal-background screening disclosures on its dating platforms under a settlement announced Monday by Attorney General Jennifer Davenport.
The state alleged that the Texas-based company misrepresented or failed to disclose its screening policies to New Jersey users, violating the state Consumer Fraud Act, Internet Dating Safety Act, and related regulations.
The Match Group operates Tinder, Hinge, Match, Plenty of Fish, OurTime, BLK, Chispa, Upward, BlackPeopleMeet, and other dating services.
Within 150 days of the Sept. 1 consent order, Match platforms that conduct criminal-background screenings must notify existing New Jersey members by email or through a pop-up message that their disclosures have been updated.
The disclosures must explain how screenings are conducted, whether the information is updated and how frequently, and which crimes, if any, prevent someone from using the platform. The services must also tell users whether people with criminal convictions, including convictions requiring registration as a sex offender, are permitted to communicate with New Jersey members.
The settlement does not require every Match platform to conduct background checks or automatically ban everyone with a criminal conviction. Instead, it requires the services to accurately tell users what screenings they perform and what they do with the results.
Platforms that conduct screenings must also warn users about their limitations. Required notices will explain that screenings are not foolproof, criminals may evade detection, public databases may be incomplete or outdated, and the checks do not include foreign convictions or records unavailable to the public.
“New Jerseyans who use online dating platforms deserve transparency about whether convicted sex offenders and other violent criminals could be among those contacting them,” Davenport said.
New Jersey’s Internet Dating Safety Act applies to companies providing online dating services to state residents. The law is intended to help consumers assess potential risks by requiring dating services to disclose whether they screen members’ criminal histories.
Krystal Knapp is the founder, executive director, and publisher of The Jersey Vindicator and the founder of Planet Princeton. She has more than two decades of experience reporting in New Jersey, including 10 years at The Trenton Times, where she was the newsroom’s public records and computer-assisted reporting expert. Her work has been recognized by the New Jersey Press Association and the Center for Cooperative Media. You can reach her at Krystal AT jerseyvindicator.org.