Norway fines dating app Grindr €6.3 million

In another serious breach of data privacy by a USA based tech company, Norway fines dating app Grindr $7.16M for sharing users details with advertising partners without consent.

In what is the highest fine ever imposed by the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, Grindr has been charged with sending sensitive personal data of users to hundreds of potential advertising partners without consent.

The Authority said that Grindr had breached the EU’s data protection regulations, which are also enforced in Norway although the country is not a member of the bloc. The original complaint was filed in 2020 by Norway’s Consumer Council who said that the company shared details including GPS location, IP addresses, ages and gender details of users.

According to the Authority “users were forced to accept the privacy policy in its entirety to use the app” and were not asked specifically if they wanted to allow their data to be shared with third parties “for behavioural advertisement. Furthermore the information about the sharing of personal data was not properly communicated to users, contrary to EU requirements for valid consent.”

Speaking on behalf of the Consumer Council, Director of Digital Policy Finn Myrstad said “the data protection agency’s decision sends a strong signal to all companies involved in commercial surveillance.”

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