There have been reports that Grindr is up for sale after posing a “national security risk”. The gay hook-up app has been found to be a national security risk by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Grindr’s parent company ‘Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. has been informed of these concerns.
The risk found is in relation to the personal information collected by the mobile app such as a user’s location to message content to their HIV status.
CFIUS is concerned with this information being owned by a company outside of the US and the possibility that data about American Grindr users could be shared with third parties, particularly when it relates to users who work for the Government or for the military.
Chinese relations expert at Nottingham University, Martin Thorley, told The Times that the company would have no choice if Beijing asked it for data. To refuse would mean “financial ruin or worse.”
In response to this, Reuters’ sources claim that Beijing Kunlun Tech Company has decided to sell the app. This has yet to be confirmed by the press.
Grindr claims to be the world’s largest social networking app for LGBT+ people with 27 million users.
Five Million Profiles Exposed
A dating app popular among queer women in China called ‘Rela’ has reportedly exposed countless profiles’ private data due to unsecured servers.
TechCrunch reported yesterday that the servers did not even have a password, March 27.
‘Rela’ allegedly left the app exposed since June 2018.
Gevers said: “The privacy of 5+ million LGBTQ+ people face a lot of social challenges China because there are no laws protecting them from discrimination.
“This data leak that has been open for years, making it even more damaging for the people who were exposed.”
A Rela spokesperson allegedly gave a ‘brief response’ to TechCrunch, confirming the leak.
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