Category: All Gay
Grindr And MOSAIC Release Middle East And North Africa GBTQ Survey Report
GLOBENEWSWIRE – Oct 19 – Grindr in partnership with the MENA Organization for Services, Advocacy, Integration & Capacity (MOSAIC), released the results of a new survey report "The Regional Livelihood of GBTQ Using Grindr," which captures the experiences of gay, bi, trans and queer (GBTQ) Grindr users living in the Middle East and North Africa. 71% reported that their parents and/or relatives do not know at all about their sexual orientation. 13% of respondents said their parents and/or relatives know about their SOGI; however, only 6% said their family is supportive. 64% of respondents said they either did not know or are unsure of what their legal rights are within their own local community. View the full report.
Fuckr Developer Backs Down In Fear Of Grindr Copyright Lawsuit
TORRENT FREAK – Oct 16 – The creator of controversial third-party Grindr app 'Fuckr' has withdrawn his opposition to a Grindr copyright complaint. Grindr filed a DMCA takedown notice with Github in September, stating that Fuckr infringes Grindr's intellectual property rights. However, after initially filing a counter-notice to have his software reinstated, Fuckr's creator has now backed away, fearing a prolonged copyright battle. Released back in 2015, the Fuckr desktop app provides controversial enhanced access to Grindr. Fuckr also gives Grindr users the ability to precisely locate hundreds of other users while revealing usually hidden information such as photos, HIV status, and even preferred sexual positions.
Facebook Marks LGBTQ Advertisements As Political, Blocking Them Again
ADVOCATE – Oct 8 – Facebook is again receiving criticism for taking action against LGBTQ advertising, with ads for a comedy show CabarGAY and social groups, among others, being blocked on the site. Facebook said the blocking of ads for being political came as a result of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. In Facebook's public database for advertisements you can found that many ads with LGBTQ content had been banned on the grounds of having "political" material. Facebook spokeswoman Devon Kearns said the blocking was unintentional. "The ones that were incorrectly labeled have been removed from the archive and we apologize for the error," she said. "We do not consider all ads that relate to LGBT under this policy, but rather only those that advocate for various policies or political positions, which several of these ads do." While Facebook maintains that the blocking of LGBTQ ads was accidental, the social media site has a history of failing to stop anti-LGBTQ hate speech, while managing to keep LGBTQ-themed ads from users.
Grindr Will Now Have To Sue Fuckr To Keep Controversial Tool Down
TORRENTFREAK – Sep 30 – Grindr recently filed a DMCA notice to have the allegedly-infringing Fuckr desktop application taken down from Github. The creator of Fuckr has contested Grindr's copyright claim, meaning that Grindr will now have to sue to stop it reappearing. Released back in 2015, the desktop application provides enhanced access to Grindr. However, the extra features offered by the software are controversial. It gives users the ability to precisely locate hundreds of Grindr users to an accuracy of just a few feet. In addition, Fuckr offers access to a trove of information about Grindr users not freely available, including photos, HIV status, and even their preferred sexual position. Early September, following an exposé by Queer Europe, Grindr decided to end Fuckr's party. The company filed a DMCA notice with Github, where the application's code was hosted. This resulted in Fuckr being taken down. But Grindr is still battling availability of the software.
A third-party App Can Use Grindr To Expose Users’ Exact Locations
Gay Dating App Chappy Relaunches With ‘Zero Tolerance For Abuse’
GAYSTAR NEWS – Sep 11 – Gay dating and social connection app Chappy has introduced a new design. Previously, users could say whether they were seeking 'Mr Right' or 'Mr Right Now'. 'Cute' and 'Sexy' moods now respectively replace those two options. Ollie Locke (of Made in Chelsea fame), Jack Rogers and Max Cheremkhin originally founded the app. Backing comes from dating app Badoo, with advisory backing from Whitney Wolfe Herd. Last month, Chappy announced Locke and Rogers were stepping down. Succeeding them is Sam Dumas as Global Head of Brand. Chappy says it will now have, 'zero tolerance for abuse or bullying of any kind.' Users reported for violating Chappy's terms and conditions risk a permanent ban from the app.
Grindr Is Introducing Kindr To Fight Racism
GQ – Sep 11 – Grindr is launching its first anti-bullying initiative this month, called Kindr. The specifics around Kindr are still opaque but Landen Zumwalt, head of communications at Grindr, promises a concerted effort to better police the app’s racism and harmful behavior. How users are reported and dealt with will become stronger.
Grindr IPO Plans Shine Light On China LGBT Acceptance
BUSINESS TIMES – Sep 7 – Grindr is planning an IPO overseas. Grindr owner, Beijing Kunlun Technology, did not publicize where or when the IPO will take place. The LGBT community continues to thrive in China. Rela is one of the most popular social networking platforms that cater to the LGBT community in China. During its peak, the platform had ~5M registered users. Blued, the country's second-largest social network for the LGBT community claims to have 27M registered users. Based on the latest data, the Chinese LGBT population currently stands between 70M to 90M. The Chinese LGBT community has an annual purchasing power that stands at a massive $938B in 2017 alone.
by Vera Dee
See full article at Business Times
For India’s LGBTQ Community, Scrapping Section 377 Is Only The First Step
QUARTZ – Sep 6 – On Sep 6, the supreme court delivered a historic verdict, striking down the section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised homosexual activity. "Any discrimination on basis of sexual orientation amounts to a violation of fundamental rights," chief justice Dipak Misra said in his judgment. Though the verdict marks a win, the fight is still on inside and outside the courtroom as the LGBTQ community seeks acceptance in terms of marriage laws, adoption laws, and more.