Match Group has escaped a class action lawsuit after a judge determined that the plaintiffs did not submit sufficient supporting documentation.
A number of investors accused the online dating company of making misleading statements about its financial and operational conditions, specifically regarding the removal of fake accounts and sexual predators.
Karen Gren Scholer, a federal judge in Texas, concluded that while there was evidence fraudulent users paid for premium accounts, the facts provided by the shareholders did not reach the desired standard.
The complaint apparently fails to outline the extent to which Match Group failed to monitor suspicious members. The plaintiffs have been granted permission to try again in the near future.
Last October, an investigation from the Australian radio show ‘Triple J Hack’ found that Tinder offered inadequate support to victims of sexual harassment and abuse. The majority of individuals who reported incidents did not receive a response, and those who did were met with generic messages with minimal information about what actions were being taken.
The issues surrounding fake profiles on Match.com were first raised by the US Federal Trade Commission in September 2019.
It stated that users were being told there were messages they couldn’t read unless they became a paying subscriber. It was believed that Match Group knew it was promoting fake accounts and that almost half a million users paid to view these messages.
The US Department of Justice closed its own investigation into Match Group 12 months later.
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