Dating app shares user data: Grindr faces a million fine in Norway

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Dating app shares user data
Grindr faces a million fine in Norway

Grindr is a popular dating app for gay and bisexual men and transsexuals. You are now facing a hefty fine in Norway. The cause is violations of the European General Data Protection Regulation, which has repeatedly caused heated discussions in Germany.

The dating app Grindr is expected to pay a heavy fine in Norway for violating data protection regulations. The Norwegian Data Inspectorate (Datatilsynet) announced that Grindr had been notified of an administrative fine of 100 million Norwegian kroner (around 9.6 million euros) for failing to comply with the consent rules for forwarding personal data in the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) wanting to impose.

The agency has provisionally come to the conclusion that Grindr has shared user data with a number of third parties without a legal basis, said Director General Bjørn Erik Thon. This violated the GDPR. The company now has until February 15 to respond to the authorities' assessments. Then the data protectionists want to make their final decision.

Highest penalty ever imposed by the data regulator

Grindr is a popular and widely used dating app for gay and bisexual men and transsexuals. A spokesman for the company in Norway said, according to the NTB news agency, Grindr had received the letter from the data regulator and was working with a legal advisor on an answer. According to NTB data, it would be the highest penalty that the data regulator has ever imposed.

The Vienna-based data protection organization Noyb considered it unlikely that the result of the data protection officers would change anything if Grindr objects to the decision. Rather, the app could face further fines. The users were not properly informed, nor was the consent specific enough.

"Not only affects Grindr, but many websites and apps"

"Anyone who relies on unlawful 'consent' must expect a hefty fine. This not only affects Grindr, but many websites and apps," said Noyb data protection lawyer Ala Krinickyte. "This is a milestone in the ongoing work to ensure that online consumer privacy is respected," said the Norwegian Consumer Council. The decision sends a clear message and affects an entire industry.

A year ago, the consumer council and Noyb filed a complaint against the app, stating that Grindr was illegally sharing the personal data of its users with third-party providers for advertising purposes. This included profile and location data as well as the fact that the person concerned is basically on Grindr. The data protectionists in Norway have now come to the conclusion that Grindr needs the consent of the users for this. Since a Grindr account also says something about sexual orientation, this data deserves special protection.