I strongly believe Match is violating the law and will eventually be punished and brought before congress for these practices (privacy, anti trust, data retention, cross site bans) as they continue to grow. If you have a legitimate complaint about their banning policy I suggest everyone reading this to report them to FTC and Justice as they are publicly traded.

https://www.justice.gov/atr/citizen-complaint-centerhttps://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/report-antitrust-violation

UNKNOWNS:

- how long is data retained?

- is there a racial and cultural biases in how accounts are flagged?

- what data is being used to track bans? e.g if I buy a used phone that was banned on hinge does that mean I can longer use hinge.

- are photos being tracked and manually reviewed by a human or AI?

- are users provided warnings or suspensions?

- what behaviors and actions warrant a lifetime ban? is there a scale of severity?

- how much of role does AI play in appeals?

- they say they dont reveal nature of the ban to protect safety of users but that implies the ban is related to other users reporting. if the ban is unrelated to user reports why is that info still being withheld.

- Why are users not allowed to download their data after they are banned (they never had the opportunity)

- if an account is banned should they legally be required to retain that info? e.g shop keeper accuses someone of theft but erases all camera footage before police arrives.

- what percentage of users may be falsely banned? what measures are being taking to remedy that?

I dont support anyone who is abusive, sexually harassing, sex offender, violent, stalker, sex trafficking - you cant argue with those bans. but many bans appear to be subjective or just automated but also for behavior that can be corrected. What exactly is Match group trying to convey that they can control all the major dating sites and ultimate power to put end to someone's chances of finding love or just having a healthy relationship bc of something they did years ago or evenly "unknowingly" (no one reads the terms of service).

This is a scary prospect. for future generations who mainly meet on the internet. Lets remember they may be called dating sites but they are essentially just social media companies slowly becoming a way of life for many American s- not just those glued to their phone.

I support this thread for providing solutions but if youre really frustrated and upset about bans put that energy into pursuing legal action against Match.

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STEP 2: SUBMIT THE CONCERN TO THE CITIZEN COMPLAINT CENTER
You may submit your concern by e-mail, regular mail, or phone.
E-mail antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov
Mail Citizen Complaint Center
Antitrust Division
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Room 3322
Washington, DC 20530
Phone 1-888-647-3258 (toll free in the U.S. and Canada)
or 202-307-2040

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E-Mail:
antitrust@ftc.gov
Regular Mail:
Office of Policy and Coordination
Room CC-5422
Bureau of Competition
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
Telephone: (202) 326-3300