In a class action lawsuit against the dating and social networking app Grindr for LGBTQ+ people, it is alleged that the data of thousands of users in the UK, including HIV status, was shared with third parties. The lawsuit filed on Monday by the British law firm Austen Hays accuses Grindr of violating British data protection laws by transferring confidential information to third parties without the users' consent.
The disclosed information included users' HIV status, as well as data on their ethnic origin, sexual life, and sexual orientation. Austen Hays claims that the data leak occurred before April 2018 and between May 2018 and April 2020, "although they may extend to subsequent periods."
The data was shared with advertising companies Localytics and Apptimize, which, according to the law firm, "will allow a potentially unlimited number of third parties to target and/or customize advertising to users." Grindr received payment from the third and fourth parties with whom the company shared personal data, and also retained some of this data.
More than 670 claimants have already joined the class action lawsuit, with Austen Hays claiming thousands more interested in joining. The company says that victims could receive thousands of pounds in damages, "given the seriousness of the violation." Violating data privacy rules can result in significant fines for the company.
Grindr has already been punished for data breaches in the past. In December 2021, the company was fined 65 million Norwegian kroner, approximately $6 million, after it was found that it was disclosing personal data to third parties for advertising without legal basis. In 2022, the UK Information Commissioner's Office also issued a warning to the company after finding that it had violated the UK's General Data Protection Regulation.
Source: Business Insider
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