Google, Tinder Being Probed Over Processing by Irish Regulator

Google, Tinder Being Probed Over Processing by Irish Regulator :- Recently, Silicon Valley giants Google and popular dating app Tinder are separately under investigation by the Irish regulators over how they process user data, in a new round of regulatory scrutiny intended at tech companies, announced Tuesday.

Tinder Being Probed Over Processing by Irish Regulator

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) stated that it had received a number of complaints from several European consumer associations about the lack of transparency in data processing.

It further said that its inquiry is going to set out to institute whether Google and Tinder have “a valid legal basis for processing” user data, and whether they will meet their “obligations as a data controller with regard to transparency.”.

On the other hand, MTCH Technology Services, the corporate name for matchmaking app Tinder, was in the limelight over “possible systemic data protection issues”.

Google “will cooperate fully with the office of the Data Protection Commission in its inquiry, and continue to work closely with regulators and consumer associations across Europe,” the company said in a statement. “In the last year, we have made a number of product changes to improve the level of user transparency and control over location data.”

For Google, the DPC said it had received some complaints over its “processing of location data”.

It is the duty of Ireland’s regulators to make sure compliance with the European General Data Protection Regulation, as the European headquarters of both the companies’ are in the country.

The regulator is also examining Tinder after people in Ireland and somewhere else in the EU raised alarms about matters surrounding U.S. parent company Match Group’s “on-going processing of users’ personal data” that has been related to Tinder, transparency and compliance with GDPR.

“Transparency and protecting our users’ personal data is of utmost importance to us,” Match Group said.

They further added, “We are fully cooperating with the Data Protection Commission, and will continue to abide by GDPR and all applicable laws.”

In the meantime, the commission has a total of 23 inquiries into big U.S. tech companies, which also consist of Facebook and Twitter. In addition, it also further launched a separate investigation of Google previous year over the issue of personalized online advertising.