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California-based company Grindr, the popular gay dating app with 27 million users worldwide has ruffled national security feathers. A U.S. government committee has pressured the platforms Chinese owner, Kunlun Tech to sell the app over national security concerns. Is the notion that a dating app could threaten national security misplaced?
The Breakdown You Need to Know
With more than 3 million daily active users, Grindr keeps a lot of social data on them. The hookup app’s privacy policy notes they collect a wide range of personal data including location information, messages, and even HIV status if users choose to provide it. One of the most exposed groups is likely black gay and bisexual men, because in 2017 they accounted for the largest number of HIV diagnoses at 9,807, followed by Hispanic with 7,436 and whites at 6,982, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CultureBanx noted herein lies the problem, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States stated Grindr has violated data protection laws. They claim the platform is sharing information on sexual preferences and HIV-status to third parties without proper consent and is forcing Kunlun to sell Grindr.
CFIUS, the group that evaluates national security concerns of foreign investment in the U.S., intervening on the Grindr deal highlights its focus on the safety of personal data. Initially Kunlun bought a majority stake in the app for just $93 million in 2016, then the Chinese internet gaming company purchased Grindr outright in 2018.
Blocking Chinese Investments
In general the government is continuing to give a side-eye to Chinese investment in U.S. tech companies. Back in 2016, China invested $18.7 billion U.S. tech firms, that number dropped drastically in 2018 to $2.2 billion, perhaps due to heightened CFIUS scrutiny.
It’s unclear why the government group has intervened in the Grindr arrangement, since they have an almost non-existent track record of doing this in other situations. When we look at history, between 1975 - 2011, they only blocked one deal. If we don’t count the Grindr tie up, CFIUS has helped block four deals since 2012, clearly a huge uptick.
Last August Kunlun explored possibly taking Grindr public before those ideas faded away. Reuters reported Grindr has swiped right on investment firm Cowen to handle the details of the sale, and solicit acquisition interest from U.S. investment firms.
Dating App Failure
Grindr has not always been a safe space for all gay men, profiles have been known to list turn-offs like “No blacks” or “Sorry, not into blacks” among other racist things. The platform has attempted to better police the app’s rampant racism and harmful behavior through its Kindr anti-bullying initiative.
