this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2024
337 points (98.0% liked)

Technology

59135 readers
3376 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
L3s@lemmy.world
L3s@fry.gs
L4s@fry.gs
L4s@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
337
Lawsuit alleges Grindr illegally shared users' HIV status, sensitive data with third-party advertisers. (www.theregister.com)
submitted 6 months ago by ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
31 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Hundreds have joined a UK class action lawsuit against LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr, seeking damages over a historical case of the company allegedly forwarding users' HIV status as well as other sensitive data to third-party advertisers.

This data included a user's HIV status and their last test date, their sexual preferences, and their GPS location – all of which were added to public profiles by users and later gathered up by Grindr's trackers.

The Norwegian Data Protection Authority (NO DPA) fined Grindr 65 million Norwegian kroner in 2020 ($5.9 million at today's exchange rate) for violating GDPR's consent rules. NO DPA's case didn't mention any violations regarding the sharing of HIV data or information about a user's sexual preferences. However, it ruled that third parties had received a user's GPS location, IP address, advertising ID, age, gender, and the fact that they used the app, and concluded that Grindr had disclosed user data to third parties "for behavioural advertisement without a legal basis."

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) said in October last year it was pushing for the FTC to probe the app maker after finding that it was retaining user data even after accounts were deleted – a practice Grindr's privacy policy explicitly says it wouldn't do.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] JayObey711@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

What are you even advertising to those people? Is there something that people with HIV are really into collectively? I mean despite medication, but that is free in the UK, right?