Category: All Gay

Chinese LGBT Social Media App Ban Users From Posting Religious Content

Posted on December 6, 2021

Blued logo 2021BITTERWINTER – Gays in China are prohibited from talking about religion or expressing their religious beliefs on social networking apps that they usually use. If they try to do so, they will have their posts deleted or even their accounts blocked. Although Blued is famous for its success, it is less well-known that Blued explicitly prohibits religious content as a violation. Article 10 of the Blued Code of Conduct lists religion-related content as a "violation of Blued platform regulations," which list Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, religious associations, Buddhist studies, * churches, and other "prohibited words," and states that users who violate the regulations "will have their signatures, avatars and other information deleted."

by Chen Tao
See full article at BitterWinter

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Digital Rights Nonprofit Alleges Grindr Violated User Privacy Laws

Posted on November 18, 2021

Grindr logo 2018JURIST.ORG – The European Center for Digital Rights (Noyb) has filed a complaint against Grindr, alleging that the dating app violated the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). New users must confirm their identity. Grindr requires these users "to hold up a piece of paper with their email address, as well as their passport – all while balancing their phone to take a selfie." Noyb asserts that this additional requirement "is violation of the GDPR." Last year Grindr faced similar allegations when the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) accused Grindr of violating the GDPR after an NCC research report found that Grindr shared location and device information with other companies.

by Heidi Johnson
See full article at Jurist.org

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LGBT Dating Site Atraf Permanently Removed From Internet in Fight Against Hackers

Posted on November 11, 2021

Atraf iconJPOST – Two weeks ago, Black Shadow announced its hack of Cyberserve, which hosted Israeli dating app Atraf, and the hackers have been exposing personal information of LGBTQ clients of the website in waves. The state prosecution has succeeded in getting the Atraf website for LGBTQ dating permanently removed from the Internet as part of its ongoing battle against the hacker group.

by Yonah Jeremy Bob
See full article at JPost

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Black Shadow Leaks More Data From Atraf

Posted on November 3, 2021

Data leakJPOST – The hacking group leaked more data from gay dating app Atraf after its demand for ransom was not met within 48 hours. The hackers broke into web hosting company Cyberserve's servers and have since been threatening to release data from Atraf, as well as Dan bus company and tour booking company Pegasus, who were clients of Cyberserve's and had their data stored on their servers.

by Tzvi Joffre
See full article at JPost

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Gay Dating App Hornet Launches Hornet Live

Posted on September 27, 2021

Hornet liveHORNET – Hornet Live is being rolled out now. Like most live streaming platforms, Hornet allows users to make money from their live videos through users sending them awards.

by Stephan Horbelt
See full article at Hornet website

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FTC Warns of Extortionists Targeting LGBTQ+ Community on Dating Apps

Posted on September 16, 2021

Ftc logoBLEEPING COMPUTER – The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns of scammers targeting the LGBTQ+ community via apps such as Grindr and Feeld. Fraudsters pose as potential romantic partners on LGBTQ+ dating apps, sending explicit photos and asking their targets to reciprocate. Victims are blackmailed to pay a ransom, usually in gift cards, under the threat of leaking the imagery. To make threats more credible scammers will state the names of exactly who they plan to contact (found online by using a phone number or social media profile) if victims don't pay up. The FTC advises LGBTQ+ dating apps users to avoid sharing explicit photos. Online dating platforms including Grindr and Feeld have also warned their users.

This warning comes after a similar one issued by the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) who has seen a massive increase in sextortion complaints since January 2021, leading to financial losses of over $8 million until the end of July. It received 16k+ sextortion complaints thru July 31, almost half of them from victims age 20-39. Victims should contact law enforcement, and file a complaint with the FBI IC3 immediately at www.ic3.gov.

by Sergiu Gatlan
See full article at Bleeping Computer

Banned and Blocked: LGBT+ Websites Censored From Russia to Indonesia

Posted on September 1, 2021

LGBT+ sites bannedTHOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION – Sep 1 – The Russian LGBT Network has been able to challenge shutdowns in court. 32 different LGBT+ websites were blocked at least once on Russian internet providers between mid-2016 and mid-2020. Same-sex relations in Russia are legal, but attitudes about sexuality and gender identity remain conservative. In a 2020 referendum, voters backed an amendment to the constitution to allow marriage only between a man and a woman, closing the door on same-sex weddings.

Website bans violate Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which Indonesia, Iran and Russia are signatories. The multilateral treaty says "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression … (including) freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers".

Iran blocked the highest number of website addresses linked to LGBT+ content. 75 unique LGBTIQ URLs were detected as blocked in Iran, followed by the UAE with 51 unique LGBTIQ URLs were found to be blocked. Five years ago, Indonesia's government said it would move to ban LGBT+ sites, and at least 38 LGBT+ websites are currently blocked. Grindr is banned in Indonesia, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE.

by Hugo Greenhalgh
See full article at Thomson Reuters Foundation News

Apple Removes Hornet Gay Dating App From Turkish Store

Posted on August 10, 2021

Hornet logo 2018SPIEGEL.DE – Aug 10 – In Turkey, digital LGBTQ + offers are repeatedly blocked. Now Hornet has disappeared from the App Store. About a year ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused LGBTQ + activists of undermining "our national and spiritual values" and "poisoning" young people. The verbal attack was not an isolated incident. Government politicians in Turkey repeatedly attract attention with homophobic and transphobic statements. Apple has removed Hornet from the Turkish app store. The reason for this is a Turkish court ruling from last year. Hornet was blocked on August 6, 2020, citing Law 5651. Originally, the law was supposed to protect the Turkish public from cybercrime. However, it grants the government extensive monitoring and blocking rights on the Internet. Hornet joins a number of similar cases. The gabile.com platform was also blocked last year. The site was created in Turkey in 1999 and is the oldest dating and exchange platform for the LGBTQ + community in the country. Grindr has also been unavailable in Turkey since 2013.

by Anna-Sophie Schneider
See full article at Speigel.de

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BlueCity Appoints Alfred Chung-Chieh Ying as Chief Strategy Officer

Posted on July 16, 2021

Bluecity logo 2021PR NEWSWIRE – July 15 – Mr. Ying brings with him over 20 years of capital market experience and extensive knowledge in corporate finance, capital raising, business development, and strategy. Prior to joining BlueCity, he served as CFO at Healthever Biotech and iFresh. Available in 13 languages, Blued connects users in 170 countries and it is the largest online LGBTQ community in China, India, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. BlueCity's portfolio of brands also includes Finka, a leading gay social networking app for a younger generation in China, and LESDO, a leading lesbian social networking app in China.

See full article at PR Newswire

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“All Discrimination Comes From Ignorance”, Says Founder of Blued

Posted on June 26, 2021

Blued ma baoli 2021TIME – June 25 – Last July, BlueCity debuted on Nasdaq with an $85M IPO as the world's most popular LGBTQ+ dating community. Although it has yet to turn a profit, losses have narrowed considerably since paid memberships, live streams and ads were introduced. "At the beginning, I just wanted to do something for myself and my gay friends," says Ma Baoli, the company's founder. In 2013, Blued began overseas expansion. It is already the market leader in many Asian countries and has grown rapidly in markets like Mexico and Brazil. Blued has 63M registered users worldwide.

by Charlie Campbell
See full article at Time

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