Safety

The OASIS Consortium published its first set of safety standards for the next generation of the Web, which includes the metaverse. The goal is to create a blueprint for how companies and developers should approach online safety going forward.

The Consortium was founded in 2021 shortly after the insurrection at the Capitol in the U.S., a day where a mob terrorized and threatened lawmakers ahead of the certification of Biden as President. Investigations into the riot have shown how social media, particularly Facebook and its outsized influence, has helped to radicalize people when it comes to their political viewpoints.

According to Time Magazine, The Consortium addresses issues across a number of tech industries, including dating apps, video games, and immersive tech platforms that are leading the way into the metaverse, or what’s called Web 3.0. Leaders from Riot Games, The Meet Group (which owns dating apps like MeetMe, LOVOO, Growlr, and Skout) and others have helped to develop these standards for improving safety and privacy as people spend more time online.

Several of Japan’s largest companies have turned to an AI dating app to help their employees find love during the pandemic.

According to Kyodo News, about 800 companies have signed up to offer the app Aill goen to employees, with the aim that they will be happier and more productive workers if they are in a good relationship. Companies are also hoping the dating app will provide a way to help employees who might be struggling with their mental health, since they have been unable to physically interact with others because of lockdowns.

The pool of matches will be limited only to participating company employees, providing a level of safety and accountability for users of the app. Aill goen is being offered to employees as part of their benefits package at work, according to Kyodo News. 

Gay dating apps are leading the way when it comes to encouraging users to disclose their STI status when they use dating apps, according to public health experts. 

Health disclosures on dating apps have taken on new importance since the pandemic took hold, with more users asking potential matches about their vaccination and infection status before agreeing to meet in person. Because of the recent urgency and importance in keeping each other safe from Covid-19, and the rising cases of STIs, mainstream dating apps like Tinder and Bumble are now looking for effective ways of encouraging users to disclose their sexual health status, too. 

Gay dating apps have long been ahead of the curve on this, encouraging users to disclose their STI status up front in the name of public health, according to the National Post.

Gay dating app Grindr was fined $7.16 million (65 million kroner) by Norway’s Internet watchdog agency for violating the privacy rights of its users.

According to ABC News, The Norwegian Data Protection Authority said that Grindr had shared the sensitive personal data of its users, including sexual orientation, to hundreds of potential advertising partners without their consent. 

It’s not the first time Grindr has been accused of violating privacy rights by the watchdog. In 2020, it filed a complaint against Grindr not only because of sensitive data that was shared with third parties, but also because it shared IP addresses and GPS locations, which could identify individual users. 

Atraf Dating App Message to Users about Hack

A group of hackers called Black Shadow threatened to expose the personal information of more than a million users of Israel’s leading gay dating app unless they were paid a million U.S. dollars within a 48-hour period. 

The dating site Atraf became a target after Black Shadow hacked an Israeli internet service provider CyberServe, according to Agence-France Press (AFP). The hackers dropped tens of thousands of personal data records online as proof of making good on the threat, which were stolen from various websites that included public transportation firms, museums, and a travel company in addition to Atraf. About 1,000 user profiles were exposed from Atraf, according to the report, with the hackers saying more exposures were to come if they did not get paid.

These exposed records included HIV status, sexual orientation, and even some passwords. According to AFP, cyber security officials link the hackers to Iran.

Dating apps like Tinder, Plenty of Fish and others under the Match Group umbrella are pushing users to call their Senators to pass the Violence Against Women Act. The Act lapsed in 2019 and has not been reauthorized since.

While the bill has already passed the House with a Democratic majority plus 29 Republicans joining to pass it, so far it has languished in the Senate. Match Group decided to take matters into their own hands and push for passage of the bill to protect users of their apps, especially as the company continues to put more safety measures in place to protect users against harassment and violence.

According to The Hill, the bill would provide funding to state and local governments to address domestic abuse, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking which has become even more of a problem with the increased use of dating apps. It would also narrow a loophole to prevent partners and boyfriends convicted of domestic violence or abuse from buying or owning guns. (Currently only spouses and former spouses are prevented from buying a gun if convicted.) A number of Republicans have opposed the bill because they see it as an infringement on gun rights.