Online dating and social network website Tinder has reached a negotiated agreement with the help of the European Commission regarding the pricing of its premium products.
The platform had been subject to a probe by a number of national and European Union watchdogs regarding its automated pricing of products. Its system offers cheaper prices to those deemed to be less interested in using the dating service element.
After two years of negotiations, the EC has helped Tinder reach an agreement with investigators to close the probe. The tech giant agreed to implement a number of reforms by the middle of April.
Those include not applying any price differentiation based on a user’s age – a practice the company had already phased out – as well as clearly indicating to potential customers that any discounts they are being presented with have been arrived at using an automated personalisation system.
Tinder must also make clear the reason it is offering a user a discounted rate. The platform is now required to tell users they have been deemed unlikely to pay full price for premium products if that is the root cause of a personalised price cut.
“It is a timeless and universal fact that the price is the most important deciding factor for consumers,” Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said on March 7.
“However, personalisation techniques nullify the possibility to compare prices, effectively disempowering consumers in their purchasing decisions.
“This is why EU consumer law now requires that traders disclose whether their price is personalised through automated means.”
“I am pleased that Tinder will now ensure that the rights of its users are fully respected,” he concluded.
In the wake of the deal, watchdogs will continue to monitor the company, with the EC saying fines could be imposed if Tinder is found to have reneged on its end of the deal.
Open verbal conflict seems to have erupted between Big Tech beasts amid the official commencement of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. https://t.co/OiKoArdprS
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) March 8, 2024
