Blued Blocks New Sign Ups Amid Underage HIV/AIDS Concerns

Blued has announced it is stopping new users from registering for one week, following a report which revealed teenagers are contracting HIV/AIDS from dates that they set up using the site.

The gay dating app has vowed to launch a “comprehensive content audit and regulation” which would see any underage activity removed and block juveniles from signing up.

It will also be using artificial intelligence to delete any pornographic material that has been uploaded within the past year.

The issue was reported by Caixin Global, a leading Chinese news magazine, off the back of an academic survey from Qingdao University.

The researchers spent 10 months interviewing health workers, members of the gay community and LGBTQ support groups.

They found a significant number of underage males admitted to having unprotected sex with men they had met on Blued.

China Sexology Association representative Peng Xiaohui told the South China Morning Post: “[I have] been worrying and warning Blued’s founder to make efforts to prevent minors from using the app.

“The public should respect the lawful rights and interests of the gay community. And the app must take responsibility to protect minors and abide by the law.”

In an interview with CBC in July 2018, Blued CEO Ma Boali revealed the company was working on making free HIV tests available in China.

The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in China has risen by 14% since September 2017, to just over 820,000.

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