CNN – Oct 7 – Former Tinder and Match Group CEO Greg Blatt has filed a lawsuit, accusing Tinder co-founder Sean Rad and former VP of marketing and communications Rosette Pambakian of defaming him. Blatt says they made public accusations of sexual harassment and sexual assault against him last year. Rad, Pambakian and eight other early employees of Tinder kicked off a whirlwind of legal battles when they sued Match Group and IAC for $2B in August 2018 alleging that the company manipulated the valuation of Tinder to deny them billions of dollars they were owed. Included in that suit was Pambakian's claim that she was allegedly groped and sexually harassed by Blatt at a 2016 holiday party. In his suit, Blatt alleges that Rad, internally, made a false accusation of the alleged sexual assault incident without Pambakian's support, and she was ultimately convinced by Rad to join his valuation suit and bring her claims against Blatt. Blatt is seeking a minimum of $50M in damages in his defamation suit.
Category: Outlets – CNN
Apple and Google Removed Three Dating Apps for COPPA Violation
CNN – May 7 – Apple and Google removed three dating apps from their app stores after the US government said the apps could expose children to sexual predators. Meet24, FastMeet and Meet4U were in potential violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. COPPA prevents websites and apps from collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. The three apps are owned by a Ukraine-based company called Wildec LLC. It allowed minors 13-years-old and younger to be contacted by other users, contradicting the apps' privacy policies, which claimed they would follow necessary laws, including COPPA.
HQ Trivia’s Parent Company Appoints Tinder CEO to Its Board
CNN – Feb 11 – The owner of the HQ Trivia mobile game is expanding its board of directors, adding Tinder CEO Elie Seidman. Right now the only other board members are co-founder and current CEO Rus Yusupov and early investor Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners. But Intermedia is looking to add additional directors in the near future. HQ Trivia launched with a bang in 2017, drawing a huge mobile viewership for group quiz games.
by Brian Stelter
See full article at CNN
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LA Clippers Push Women’s Empowerment With Bumble Deal
CNN – Nov 7 – In the era of #MeToo dating app Bumble has teamed up with a high-profile sports team to "shake up" a predominantly male-driven industry. The Los Angeles Clippers signed a reported three-year $20M sponsorship deal with Bumble. The partnership launched with a #strongerwithher campaign at a Clippers game – encouraging fans to honor women who impact their lives. The deal places the dating app's logo as a patch on the Clippers' uniform.
Study: Online Dating Lowers Self-esteem
![Online-dating-sites_thumb[1]](https://i0.wp.com/onlinepersonalswatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/6a00d834515c5f69e20224e03dfd8c200d-800wi.png?ssl=1 "Online-dating-sites_thumb[1]")
CNN – May 29 – Dating apps are only growing in popularity, with no sign of slowing. The stigma of finding a mate online is lessening. But rejection is real, even online. Being turned down stimulates the same part of the brain that processes physical pain, according to a 2011 study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Basically, our brains can't tell the difference between a broken heart and a broken bone. Online dating gives users many more opportunities to feel rejected faster. 1,300 (mostly) college-age students were asked about their Tinder use, body image and self-esteem. The study found that men and women who use the app appear to have lower self-esteem than those who don't. In general, Tinder users reported less satisfaction with their bodies and looks than non-users, study author Jessica Strübel wrote.
by Juliet Marateck
See full article at CNN
Bumble CEO: I Don’t Think About Tinder
CNN MONEY – Mar 11 – "I don't believe revenge is part of my agenda. I'm a firm believer that just like hate spreads hate, love and kindness spread love and kindness. We're doing our own thing," said Wolfe Herd. Last month, Tinder confirmed it will launch a setting that makes it possible for women to interact only with the men they message first. The move has long been the differentiating factor between Tinder and Bumble. Bumble expects to bring in $150M from paid subscriptions this year, Wolfe Herd said, noting that 45% of paying users are women.
by Sara Ashley O'Brien
See full article at CNN Money
Meet Violet Lim, The Woman That Brought Lunchtime Dating To Asian Cities
CNN MONEY – Jan 17 – Singapore native Violet Lim is the founder of Lunch Actually, a personalized service that matches customers with a lunch date. Fourteen years later, she says her company has created ~3K successful pairings. It now operates in six Asian cities with a total of 1.4M users. Last year, the company unveiled plans for Viola.AI, an app that uses A.I. to help singletons find their match and blockchain technology to verify people's identity. It hopes to launch the service globally this year. The group has also acquired a number of other businesses – dating app Love Out Loud Asia and Thai dating company MeetNLunch and Indonesia-based online dating platform Setipe. In 2016, Lunch Actually set up a joint venture with Japanese internet dating company Diverse Co to launch a premium dating service in Japan.
by Andrea Lo
See full article CNN Money
Ashley Madison: Life After The Hack
edited by Aimee Rawlins
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Should Dating Apps Have HIV Filters?
eHarmony’s Neil Clark Warren Stepping Down, Grant Langston New CEO
CNN MONEY – July 26 – Neil Clark Warren is no longer CEO of eHarmony. He will continue to serve the company as chairman. The new CEO is Grant Langston, the VP of brand marketing who has been with eHarmony since the beginning. This isn't the first time that Warren has stepped down. He retired in 2007, but came back in 2012 to "turn around" the company.