LAW360 – Mar 16 – Prickett Jones and Kessler Topaz edged out a team led by Andrews & Springer, Friedman Oster and Cohen Milstein on Monday to helm a stockholder challenge to the $30B spinoff of Match Group, Match.com's parent, from IAC on July 1, 2020. The lawsuit is accusing chairman Barry Diller and past and current Match directors of separating the two companies under terms unfair to investors and Match.
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THE VERGE – Mar 15 – Tinder will soon let users run a background check on a potential date. Match Group announced an investment in Garbo, a nonprofit allows people to run background checks with only their first name and phone number or full name. The investment, of which Match didn't disclose the amount (a seven-figure investment), will help make the group's tech available to Match's users, starting with Tinder. Garbo says it collects "public records and reports of violence or abuse, including arrests, convictions, restraining orders, harassment, and other violent crimes. Notably, Garbo said it won't publicize drug possession charges. The company says drug-related offenses don't meaningfully predict "gender-based violence". Garbo also doesn't disclose traffic violations. The background checks on Tinder won't be free, but Match is working with Garbo to figure out how to price them so they’re accessible to most users.
AXIOS – Mar 15 – Tinder, along with its parent company Match Group, is working with a non-profit called Garbo to help customers find out if their potential dating partner has a criminal record. Match Group expects to have Garbo's service integrated into Tinder later this year, but many of the details have yet to be finalized. Garbo is the brainchild of its CEO Kathryn Kosmides, herself a survivor of sexual assault. Late last year, Match partnered with the Rape and Incest National Network (RAINN) to audit the company's assault prevention systems. It also hired Tracey Breeden, a law enforcement and Uber veteran, as its first head of safety and social advocacy.
by Ina Fried
See full article at Axios
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Mark Brooks: Background check services have come of age, and are now more relevant than ever for safeguarding user safety. I (Courtland Brooks) work with RealMe who use a huge swathe of data sources to inform the decision making of daters and people in online social communities.
ZDNET – Mar 8 – The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into Apple, following complaints that its terms and conditions for app developers are allegedly unfair and anti-competitive. While there is similar work being conducted globally, including in the US, Australia is also looking into app marketplaces. As part of a probe conducted by an Australian Select Committee, Senators on Friday heard from Match Group. Mark Buse, SVP and head of global government relations and policy for Match Group, said the current app store marketplace, which operates as "two side-by-side monopolies", severely constricts companies from serving consumers and offering them the "newest, most innovative features being developed by the fintech community". Buse was also pointing to Google, saying although the tech giant does allow third-party app marketplaces to be deployed on Android devices, it essentially pushes all traffic through the Google Play Store. Google announced late last year it would follow Apple's approach and require digital apps to use its in-app payment system exclusively, as well, which Buse said also means paying the 30% fee imposed by Apple.
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Mar 6 – Dating apps are taking a platonic turn. An analysis by venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz showed friend discovery is the fastest-growing category of mobile social apps in the U.S. Citing data from Apptopia, with friendship apps like Itsme, Wink and Yubo being the fastest-growing apps nationwide. Bumble BFF accounted for 9% of its total monthly active users as of Sep 2020. That traffic seems to have come mostly organically. Match Group has also been chasing friendships and other platonic connections. It estimates this market is twice the size of dating. Match Group paid $1.7B in cash and stock for South Korean social-media company Hyperconnect in its biggest acquisition ever. Hyperconnect is already generating profits and did $200M in revenue in 2020, up 50% YOY. Hyperconnect owns two video apps in Azar, which is the highest grossing one-to-one video chat app in the world; and Hakuna, which offers group live video, audio and avatar-based streaming.
CHICAGO BUSINESS – Mar 2 – Yagan is a well-known founder, CEO and investor. He was CEO of ShopRunner, an e-commerce company that is being acquired by FedEx. He previously was CEO of Match Group, which acquired OkCupid. He also co-founded Excelerate Labs, which later became TechStars Chicago. He plans to raise $200M in an IPO for a special-purpose acquisition company called Corazon Capital V838 Monoceros. The company, incorporated in the Cayman Islands, takes its name from the Chicago-based venture-capital firm run by Yagan and longtime business partners Steve Farsht and Phil Schwarz. As a blank-check company, Yagan and his team have 24 months to find an acquisition. Corazon says it's targeting businesses with "consumer-facing technology, subscription- or recurring-revenue models, marketplaces and networks, or those that operate in sectors such as education, social media and dating, and e-commerce."
OPW – Mar 2 – We published 956 posts during last year on OPWS.news, featuring 257 dating industry brands. Here is who got the most press coverage on OPW.news.
BLOOMBERG LAW – Feb 28 – A Match Group investor sued current and former board members, claiming they failed to keep sexual predators off its dating apps and "knowingly capitalized on fraud" by letting "fake love interest" emails past scam filters. "Match.com had the ability to detect potentially fraudulent users and block their communications," and "it did, but only for a fee," the 167-page lawsuit says. "For non subscribers, on the other hand, Match.com used the fraudulent users to entice membership subscriptions."
by Mike Leonard
See full article at Bloomberg Law
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GLOBE NEWSWIRE – Feb 16 – PLBY Group, the owner of Playboy, appointed Lance Barton as CFO. Mr. Barton joins PLBY Group from Match Group, where he served as head of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. He joined Match Group from IAC in 2014, and helped lead a period of substantial growth at Match Group, including a 1300% increase in Match Group's share price and a $45B increase in Match Group's market capitalization.
ODA – Feb 18 – Match.com, a Match Group brand, was a founding member of the ODA in 2014. The ODA exists to promote high user safety standards within the dating sector. Morgan Cauvin, Match Group's Head of Government Relations EMEA has been recently appointed Chair of the ODA.
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