The Meet Group, parent company to livestreaming brands including MeetMe, Skout, Growlr and LOVOO, has joined The Online Dating Association (ODA) as a member brand.
Founded in 2013, the ODA looks to help the online dating industry speak with one voice to regulators, law enforcement agencies and other key stakeholders.
Other ODA members include Chirstian Connection, M14 Industries, Oasis.com, TheDatingLab and MuddyMatches.co.uk. Members must have a focus on “relationships, friendships and love”, as opposed to hookups, and abide by the ODA’s guiding principles.
George Kidd, CEO of the ODA, said: “We are delighted to welcome The Meet Group into ODA membership. We look forward to its contributions as we strive to continually improve the wellbeing of the online dating sector and its users.
“Many dating brands are now international serving users across the world. Meet is one such business and we very much welcome their commitment to work with us on standards and good practice. A broad membership is critical to the Association’s ability to inform and influence Governments, regulators and other stakeholders.”
Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group, added: “The ODA is a pioneer in standardizing best practices in online dating and we are proud to be joining forces with their team. Connecting millions of people a day is inherently challenging. That is why we devote nearly half of our entire workforce exclusively to safety and moderation. That is also why we believe it is so important to share best practices across our industry, to the benefit of all our users.
“We look forward to working with the ODA and its members to reduce abusive behavior across the space. We are particularly committed to leading the way on safety practices for livestreaming apps.”
The Meet Group’s record on safety was challenged in a recent New York Times article. The company released a statement in the weeks after its publication, doubling down on its commitment to protecting users.
Read more here.