TRENTON, N.J. — Match Group Inc. will pay $650,000 and change its business practices to resolve allegations that it misrepresented or failed to disclose its criminal background screening policies to New Jersey users of its online dating platforms, state officials announced Tuesday.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Division of Consumer Affairs said the Texas-based company agreed to the settlement following an investigation that found its conduct violated the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, Internet Dating Safety Act and state regulations governing internet dating services.
Match Group operates dating platforms including Match, Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, Our Time, BLK, Chispa, Upward and Black People Meet.
“New Jerseyans who use online dating platforms deserve transparency about whether convicted sex offenders and other violent criminals could be among those contacting them,” said Attorney General Davenport. “Our internet dating safety law requires dating services to clearly disclose the steps they take — or fail to take — to identify dangerous offenders. We will continue to hold companies accountable when they fail to comply with the law.”
The state’s Internet Dating Safety Act requires companies providing online dating services to New Jersey residents to disclose whether criminal history background screenings are performed on users.
“New Jersey consumers deserve to know what protections are in place when they use online dating services,” said Christopher Peterson, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “Under our strong consumer protection laws, dating platforms must provide users with the information they need to make informed choices about who they meet and communicate with online. Our office will continue to stand up for New Jersey consumers and enforce the laws in place to keep them safe.”
Under a consent order, Match Group agreed to accurately represent the criminal background screening policies and practices of its affiliated dating platforms to New Jersey users.
Within 150 days, Match Group platforms that perform criminal background screenings as defined under state law must also send an email or issue a pop-up notification to existing New Jersey users informing them about updates to their criminal background screening disclosures.
Those platforms must clearly disclose how criminal background screenings are conducted, whether screening information is updated and how frequently, whether people identified as having criminal convictions — including convictions requiring sex offender registration — are permitted to use the service to communicate with New Jersey members, and what crimes, if any, disqualify someone from doing so.
The dating services must also provide safety notices explaining the limitations of background screenings. Among other disclosures, users must be told that screenings are not foolproof, criminals may circumvent screening technology, criminal databases may not always be current, screenings include only publicly available convictions and convictions in foreign countries are not covered.
The settlement resolves the state’s allegations against Match Group without the need for further enforcement proceedings.
