Tinder owner hit with €11M privacy fine

Ireland's privacy regulator has fined Tinder owner Match Group €11 million, saying the dating app failed to give users a full copy of their personal data upon request.

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) said on Friday that a tool Tinder provides to users who want to download their personal data is not up to scratch. The DPC had launched an inquiry in January 2020, focusing on whether Tinder's "Download My Data" tool is complaint with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation.

In a decision announced Friday, the DPC said the tool failed to provide users with all of their personal data, and that certain categories of information were omitted, or users were only given a summary of their data.

The regulator said the tool did not meet requirements set out in the GDPR, that people have a right to access the personal data about them that a company holds.

Deputy Commissioner at the Irish DPC, Graham Doyle, said automated access tools "can be a useful and efficient way" to give people access to their personal data, but they "must be fair and transparent to individuals regarding the extent of the data provided."

Match Group has been fined €11 million, issued with a reprimand, and ordered to bring its data processing into compliance with the GDPR within three months.

A Match Group spokesperson said the company will appeal: “Tinder engaged with the DPC throughout this investigation, and we stand behind the privacy protections we’ve built for our users.”

This article has been updated with a comment from Match Group.