(MARTIN BUREAU / Contributor/Getty Images)
A spokesperson for the parent company of Tinder, OkCupid, and Match.com just made the stunning admission that “there are definitely registered sex offenders” on the company’s free dating apps.
As reported by Mediaite, the statement was issued to ProPublica, BuzzFeed, and Columbia Journalism Investigations, which co-published an article titled “Tinder Lets Known Sex Offenders Use the App. It’s Not the Only One,” on Monday.
“Today, Match Group checks the information of its paid subscribers on Match against state sex offender lists. But it doesn’t take that step on Tinder, OkCupid or PlentyofFish — or any of its free platforms,” the article explained, noting that the company allegedly “cannot implement a uniform screening protocol because it doesn’t collect enough information from its free users — and some paid subscribers — even when they pay for premium features.”
WIBC host Tony Katz commented on the story Tuesday morning:
“Maybe I’m being a little too harsh here, but if Tinder knows there are sex offenders on their site and they refuse to do anything about it, that’s egregious. What am I supposed to do with that?
“I don’t understand why the company ensures that the profiles on Match.com – which they own – don’t include sex offenders, but they can’t do that for the free dating apps? Free or not, wouldn’t your users demand that you take that extra step to ensure their safety?”
Click below to hear Tony’s full commentary.
