FTC Action Against Match and OkCupid for Deceiving Users, Sharing Personal Data
The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against OkCupid and its affiliate Match Group Americas over allegations OkCupid deceived users of its dating app by sharing their personal information, including photos and location information, with an unrelated third party, contrary to OkCupid’s privacy promises.
As part of a settlement, OkCupid, operated by Dallas-based Humor Rainbow, Inc., and Match Group Americas, which provides services for Humor Rainbow, will be prohibited from misrepresenting its privacy policies and could face monetary penalties for any future violations.
In a federal complaint , the FTC alleged that OkCupid gave an unauthorized third party access to the personal data of millions of OkCupid users in violation of its privacy policies. The FTC’s action follows the Commission’s successful enforcement in federal court of its Civil Investigative Demand, which required OkCupid to turn over information requested by the agency.
“The FTC enforces the privacy promises that companies make,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We will investigate, and where appropriate, take action against companies that promise to safeguard your data but fail to follow through—even if that means we have to enforce our Civil Investigative Demands in court.”
As alleged in the complaint, OkCupid told consumers that it doesn’t share “your personal information with others except as indicated in this Privacy Policy or when we inform you and give you an opportunity to opt out of having your personal information shared.” Its privacy policy at the time claimed it may share personal information with service providers, business partners, other entities within its family of businesses or when it informed consumers about such data sharing and gave consumers the chance to opt out.
Despite these promises, the FTC alleged that OkCupid shared users’ personal data with a third party—even though it was not a service provider, business partner, or family affiliate—and did not inform consumers or give them the chance to opt out of such sharing.