BRISBANE TIMES – Australian and European regulators are sharing information about the market power of big tech companies ahead of a pivotal court ruling. The test case in the Netherlands will decide if Apple must overhaul its App Store across Europe to comply with competition laws. Martijn Snoep, chairman of the Authority for Consumers and Markets in The Hague, imposed sanctions on Apple last year after Match Group lodged a formal complaint over the 30% fee on all in-app purchases. Snoep said the problem was global and required regulators to share information so they could protect consumers. Apple outlined some changes to its payments on June 11, but is fighting the Dutch regulator through the courts because of the sweeping impact on its revenue if it loses, which means the case could go to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. South Korea has also acted against Apple over its payment services and the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority said in June it would investigate Apple and Google over cloud gaming restrictions and app store payment practices.
Month: July 2022
Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd: “I Love Being Underestimated”
CNBC – Being overlooked or rejected can be an incentive to work harder, whether you're just starting your career, switching jobs, or pitching a new idea, Wolfe Herd said. "I personally love being underestimated. I think it's a total superpower," she said. On Bumble, women initiate conversations with matches. This was immediately a problem for investors, who told her that women wouldn't want to ask men out. Wolfe Herd said the rejection didn't make Bumble a bad idea. Instead, she said, she started viewing it as a new idea that people didn't know how to visualize yet.
Dating News Headlines: Match.com, Bumble, Spark Networks
Quick links to today's dating news headlines
Muslim Matchmaker Heads Muslim Dating App Joompa
CNA – Anisa Hassan is the founder of Date High Flyers, a matchmaking service for professionals, and Joompa, a Muslim matchmaking app. Matchmaking is in Anisa's blood. Growing up, her mother was enthusiastic about setting up the younger members of the family. Date High Flyers matches professionals, including several CEOs. Her clients are in their late 30s to mid-70s. ~60% of them are either divorced or widowed, and she describes them as "very, very committed to setting down". They come from all over the region, including Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. With clients paying anything from S$6K to a five-figure sum to engage in her matchmaking services, Anisa's business could be described as lucrative. But it's not scalable. "I'm always front and centre. If I want to take it to the next level, I must have something that's scalable," she said. To help her reach this goal, Anisa launched Joompa in mid-2020, an app she believes is the first to be created by a career matchmaker.
by Hidayah Salamat
See full article at CNA
See the top news on Date High Flyers
See the top news on Joompa
Dating News Headlines: Date High Flyers, Joompa
Quick links to today's dating news headlines
Hello Group Stock Is Attracting Value Speculators
MARKETBEAT – Chinese social media company Hello Group stock has fallen (-34%) over the year despite being profitable. The company operates two major apps, including the social media app MOMO and Tantan, a dating app similar to Tinder. Chinese ADR stocks have mainly fallen out of favor with investors as their financials can't be verified, and Chinese regulators could take companies out of the market. Hello Group Q1 revenues fell by 9.3% YOY to $471.9M, MAU dropped to 110.9M from $115.3M in the year-ago period. The total paying users is 11M, down from 12.6M. The COVID lockdowns had a negative impact resulting in a significant decline in users dating sentiment and ability to pay for VAS.
See full article at Investing.com
See the top news on Hello Group
See the top news on Momo
See the top news on Tantan
Soul, Chinese Metaverse Dating App, Vies for HK Listing
by Ryan McMorrow, Nian Liu & Hudson Lockett
See full article at Financial Times
WooPlus Rolls out ‘Flash Chat’ Feature to Break the Ice
WOOPLUS – The Flash Chat feature was launched to kill the awkward silence and ghosting. To join the 'Flash Chat,' users simply have to go to the chat section and click 'start the game.' The Flash Chat will then automatically search for nearby users and start an instant chat. Flash Chat has a daily updated question pool, from which users can choose any question they would like to ask. WooPlus, founded in 2015, is a dating app for curvy people.
How OKCupid Is Using Its App and Its Ads to Fight for Abortion Rights
DIGIDAY – The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn its landmark ruling on Roe vs. Wade has companies working through navigating how to address abortion rights, but OKCupid is already centering its marketing strategy around the topic. OKCupid sent in-app notifications to all U.S. users encouraging them to donate to Planned Parenthood. It also plans on supporting the organization's corporate day of action on July 13 by shutting down the app for several hours and encouraging users to join a "virtual walk-out." OKCupid first began partnering with Planned Parenthood in 2017 by creating a profile badge for users who want to show their support to the organization.
Google to Pay US App Developers $90M in a Settlement Over App Store Policies
CNN – US Android app developers (who earned $2M or less annually from the Google Play Store between 2016 and 2021) will be able to claim money from a new $90M fund Google will establish as part of a wider settlement with app makers over Google's app store practices. The settlement is designed to address app developers' years-long allegations that Google imposes onerous and anticompetitive restrictions on app makers as a condition of hosting their apps on its Google Play Store. Google said it would continue a pricing model established last year that allows US app developers to pay a lower fee, 15%, for the first $1M in annual revenue collected from the Google Play Store.