Contributed by: kellyseal on Monday, August 26 2024 @ 12:19 pm
Last modified on Monday, August 26 2024 @ 12:25 pm
A former Catholic priest has brought a lawsuit against Grindr for allegedly selling his personal data without his knowledge or consent. He says the public “outing” cost him his job and his reputation.
In the lawsuit, Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill claimed that Grindr failed to inform him that his data was being sold to vendors, thereby allowing people outside of the app to know he was using it and causing him “significant damage,” according to The New York Post[*1] .
This follows a class action lawsuit in the U.K. brought by 650 plaintiffs alleging that Grindr shared their data with third parties without their knowledge or consent, including sensitive data like HIV status. The lawsuit also alleges that some of the third parties might have retained some of this data for their own purposes.
The Pillar ran a story in 2021 on Burrill, exposing him for visiting gay bars and using the dating app to hook up. The media outlet said that it “tracked down and verified his behavior using online data,” according to The New York Post. He was forced to resign from the Catholic priesthood that same year.
Burrill also alleged in the lawsuit that the Pillar received its information from Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal (CLCR) according to The Washington Post[*2] , who broke the story. Jayd Hendricks, CLCR’s president, told The Post that the organization had received Grindr data to help Catholic bishops “assist their priests and seminarians in living their priestly vows,” but declined sharing that information with Pillar.
Burrill said in the lawsuit he never would have joined the app if he knew that his data would be shared or exposed.
“To have that decision forced out of your hands and into the public realm is reprehensible,” James Carr, an attorney representing Burrill, told the Washington Post.
Burrill asked Grindr for $5 million in damages prior to filing the lawsuit, but the company refused. Grindr has also said it will fight the lawsuit in the U.K., alleging that it does not sell or share user data with third parties.
After Grindr’s refusal, Burrill sued for damages.
Grindr told the Washington Post it will “respond vigorously to these allegations, which are based on mischaracterizations of practices relating to user data.” The company had previously denied that it made user data publicly available, but seems to be walking this back, according to The New York Post.
Gregory Helmer, another attorney for Burrill, told The Washington Post: “We want answers so we can use that as a warning to other Grindr users.”