Asian Media Weighs In on Kunlun Tech Grindr Sale

As part of its ‘Asian Review’, Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei has reported on the story that the US Government is ordering Kunlun Tech to sell Grindr.

The news came after The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) deemed Kunlun’s ownership of the GBTQ dating app to be a national security risk.

Grindr users have been concerned about whether or not their private data is safe in the hands of the Chinese tech company. There were rumours that data was being shared with the Chinese Government, but representatives categorically denied those claims.

Last year, Grindr announced that it was going to stop sharing sensitive information after it was found to be sending users’ HIV statuses to third-party companies.

Kunlun Tech acquired a majority stake in the dating company in 2016, before taking full control at the start of 2018. According to Nikkei, Grindr’s valuation had climbed by more than 160% in that time.

In 2017, Kunlun Tech’s founder claimed that 10 of his companies would be public by the end of 2020. Grindr was given the green-light to pursue an IPO on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange the following year, but that is now highly unlikely.

The US is clamping down on a number of high-profile Chinese companies, most notably Huawei, as part of the ongoing ‘trade war‘ between the two nations.

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