Match Group Forms Board to Fight Sexual Assault
Match Group has announced the formation of a new board which will be primarily focused on protecting its users from sexual assault. It will also make regular donations to charities that work to fight sexual abuse and harassment.
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center will work with the company to help prevent incidents.
The Match Group Advisory Council will start as a six person committee, fronted by Tarana Burkem, the founder of the Me Too movement.
The council will meet quarterly and will study what safety precautions are in place on online dating platforms and advise on how safety could be improved.
Match Group CEO, Mandy Ginsberg, said on Axios: “My hardest days in the organization over ten years was really the rare occasion where you’d see the headline that something happened with one of our users.”
There are already plans for RAINN to introduce a hotline, specifically for users of Match Group’s dating platforms.
Apps that encourage real-life connections between strangers, such as dating apps and Uber or Airbnb, have suffered problems with reports of sexual assault and harassment for a while now.
The creation of this board comes not long after the UK and US governments have both raised concerns about the amount of online-dating related crime.
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