Report Finds Dating Apps Leak Personal Data, EPIC and Coalition Urge Investigation

A new report from Norweigian consumer group Forbrukerradet finds that dating apps transmit personal data to at least 135 different third parties involved in behavioral advertising. The data includes IP address, GPS location, age, gender, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs. EPIC joined coalition letters to Congress, the FTC, and state Attorneys General urging investigation of the business practices detailed in the report. EPIC Consumer Protection Counsel Christine Bannan said: "This report highlights the pervasiveness of corporate surveillance and the failures of the FTC notice-and-choice model for privacy protection. Congress should pass comprehensive data protection legislation and establish a U.S. Data Protection Agency to protect consumers from the privacy violations of the adtech industry."