A significant lawsuit between the Federal Trade Commission and Match Group, the parent company of OkCupid, has been settled. The lawsuit, which began in 2014, alleged that OkCupid shared personal user data, including photos and location information, with a third-party company called Clarifai without informing its users. This data sharing was said to be in violation of OkCupid's own policies, which stated that user data would only be shared with service providers, business partners, or other entities within its family of businesses. The FTC claimed that Clarifai, which offers AI-powered software for facial recognition and content moderation, did not fall under these allowed entities. As part of the settlement, Match Group and Humor Rainbow, which operates OkCupid, are permanently prohibited from misrepresenting the type of personal information they collect, the purpose of collecting the data, and any consumer choices to prevent data collection.
The settlement resolves allegations that OkCupid shared three million photos of its users with Clarifai without giving them a chance to opt out. An OkCupid spokesperson stated that the company has settled the matter with no monetary penalty and emphasized that the allegations do not reflect how OkCupid operates today. The company has reportedly strengthened its privacy practices and data governance over the years to meet the expectations of its users. Additionally, OkCupid had previously addressed security flaws that could have exposed user account information, patching them in 2020.
