The Federal Trade Commission announced that Match Group will pay $14 million to settle a complaint about deceptive practices. The settlement fee will be used to provide redress to injured customers of Match Group’s dating services, which include Match.com, Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and PlentyOfFish.
The agency sued Match Group in 2019 on a series of allegations. According to the complaint, the dating service company had used misleading ads to encourage subscriptions and then made it difficult for customers to cancel those subscriptions. Match Group was also accused of locking customers out of their accounts when they attempted to dispute billing charges.
In addition to the payment, Match Group has agreed to clearly and conspicuously disclose the terms of its “six-month guarantee,” as well as any conditions or limitations to those offers. It will also offer simple mechanisms for customers to cancel their subscriptions. Finally, Match Group will not retaliate or take action against customers who file billing disputes, and it won’t deny those customers access to paid-for services or goods.
Match Group also drew scrutiny earlier this year after an investigation claimed that it had failed to act on reports of sexual assault and made little effort to keep abusive or dangerous users from rejoining other dating platforms it owns.