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Tinder, Hinge, and their corporate owner keep rape under wraps

The company behind more than a dozen dating apps, Match Group, has known for years about the abusive users on its platforms, but chooses to leave millions of people in the dark

But while Match Group has long possessed the tools, financial resources, and investigative procedures necessary to make it harder for bad actors to resurface, internal documents show the company has resisted efforts to spread them across its apps, in part because safety protocols could stall corporate growth. In its statement, Match Group cast itself as an industry leader in deploying technology to promote safety, including “harassment-preventing AI tools, ID verification for profiles, and a portal that helps us better support and communicate with law enforcement investigating crimes. Two months later, prosecutors were still empty-handed — with the judge in the case asking at a hearing if he needed to start “dragging people in to get stuff done.” It wasn’t until February 2024 that the Denver District Attorney’s Office said they finally received documents returned by Match Group.

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