OkCupid settles FTC case on alleged misuse of its users' personal data

Match Group and its subsidiary OkCupid has yet settled a suit pinch nan Federal Trade Commission that dates backmost to its alleged sharing of personification information backmost successful 2014. According to nan lawsuit, nan FTC accused OkCupid of inappropriately sharing personal personification data that includes photos and location info pinch a 3rd statement company, Clarifai, which offers AI-powered package for uses for illustration facial nickname and contented moderation.

According to nan FTC, OkCupid's privateness argumentation astatine nan clip noted that nan institution wouldn't stock a user's individual accusation pinch others, isolated from for immoderate cases including "service providers, business partners, different entities wrong its family of businesses." However, nan suit accused OkCupid of sharing 3 cardinal photos of its users to Clarifai, which nan FTC claims is simply a "unrelated 3rd party" that didn't autumn nether nan allowed entities. On apical of that, nan suit alleged that OkCupid didn't pass its users of this information sharing, nor springiness them a chance to opt out.

"While we do not admit immoderate wrongdoing, we person settled this matter pinch nan FTC pinch nary monetary punishment to resoluteness an rumor from 2014 and move forward," an OkCupid spokesperson told Engadget, adding that nan allegations don't bespeak really OkCupid operates today. "Over nan years, we person further strengthened our privateness practices and information governance to guarantee we meet nan expectations of our users."

Moving forward, nan colony would "permanently prohibit" Match Group, which owns OkCupid, and Humor Rainbow, which operates OkCupid, from misrepresenting what benignant of individual accusation it collects, nan intent for collecting nan information and immoderate user choices to forestall information collection. Even aft nan 2014 incident, OkCupid was recovered pinch security flaws that could've exposed personification relationship info but, which were quickly patched successful 2020.