MARKETING.IE – Nov 20 – Lumen founder and dating expert Charly Lester will be in Dublin this week for the launch. Lumen raised £3.5M from Andrey Andreev, the Founder of Badoo.
Category: All UK & Europe
Interview with George Kidd, CEO of Online Dating Association
OPW INTERVIEW – Nov 19 – The OnlineDatingAssociation.org.uk is based in the UK and was formed to help a group of dating companies discuss standards and speak as one voice to regulators. A good cause. George Kidd is the CEO, and we interviewed him about some sticky issues in Internet dating.
What is the greatest concern regarding online dating safety?
It is the distinction between a profile and a person; how we see and present ourselves online and when messaging and how we truly are as individuals. That is why a key ODA message is "Get to know the person, not the profile".
Do you think an online dating service has an obligation to provide background checks?
Yes and no. In Germany and the UK, third parties cannot access criminal records. Exemptions exist for those working in schools. Also many of those who commit some offence are first-time offenders: there is no previous database flagging past behaviour. We need, therefore, to look at what is practical in terms of prevention.
What are your thoughts on bots?
Operators should not create fake profiles to populate their service. I have heard the argument that it might be ok for some adult dating services to create profiles in order to balance up the gender ratio or to spice up a service that is about fantasy, not dating. I am not persuaded. Paying users surely don't want to chat with bots.
What are the existing laws surrounding financial scammers on online dating services?
Scamming is fraud, a criminal activity and prosecutable as such.
How should these crimes be prosecuted?
I am inclined to say better! But that is unfair on national and regional law enforcement agencies. Wrongdoers run their scams anywhere in the world. And, while there are some successful international co-operations, there are many more scams un-investigated for this reason.
Should the dating service be involved?
We are in a world of "best endeavours". In our case that might mean more real-time police sharing of reports of wrongdoing that allow operators to cut off any suspect behaviour. Somewhere in the mix sits financial institutions: "follow the money" or "block the payment" could make a huge difference.
There's an event on Friday 29th November you might want to check out. ODA are doing a session in the afternoon in London titled, "The impact of new wave dating services – are we now a form of social media?" .
Post by Mark Brooks, CEO IDEA
The Oldie Magazine Has Launched Greydar, a 50+ Dating Service
Parship Is Not “Germany’s Largest Dating Agency”, the Court Ruled
RNZ – Nov 8 – Parship described itself as Germany's largest online dating service which was disliked by LoveScout24, Parship's biggest competitor in Germany. LoveScout24 ended up suing Parship for false advertising statements. This week, The Higher Regional Court Munich ruled in favor or LoveScout24. So who is at the top? According to the study "Der Deutsche Online-Dating-Markt 2017/2018", both sites have ~10M users each. Parship was founded in 2001 and has been part of the TV group ProSiebenSat.1 together with its smaller sister site Elite-Partner for two years. Parship employs 230 people and generated ~120M Eur in revenue in 2017. LoveScout24 does not want to disclose its revenues.
Domino’s Pizza To Launch A Dating App
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK – Nov 8 – Fast food giant Domino's Pizza has announced plans to launch a dating app to match customers over their favourite toppings. CEO Don Meij said Domino's is set to launch a dating app in Netherlands at the company's general meeting in Brisbane on Wednesday. 'Simply swipe your favourite pizza and the Domino's dating app will connect you to other pizza lovers, find a match, and go on a date,' he said.
Romanian Dating Site Sentimente.ro Is Using AI
Unsolicited ‘Dick Pics’ Shouldn’t Be Laughed Off, But Criminalised
THE GUARDIAN – Oct 30 – Random and unsolicited sending of sexual images or videos from men to young women is all too common. In the UK, 41% of women aged 18 to 36 have reportedly received non-consensual sexual images, of whom 23% said they found it distressing and 17% said they felt threatened. Flashing your naked body on the street is indecent exposure – so why should it be excused online? A group of MPs call for crackdown over unsolicited sexual images.
Russian Senator Wants To Ban Dating Sites And Apps
CRIME RUSSIA – Oct 25 – Senator Tamara Pletneva, the chairman of Russia's State Duma Committee on family relations, believes dating sites have a negative impact on the relationship between a man and a woman. "I would completely restrict access to dating websites and apps, and limit the whole Internet, because our children, young people, and even elderly people get access to bad things there," she said.
The Rise Of The Dating Dinner Party
Dating Now Dominates The UK’s Top Grossing Lifestyle Apps
by Zen Terrelonge
See full article at EliteBusiness Magazine
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