Match Group Settles FTC Lawsuit Over OkCupid User Data Shared With Facial Recognition Firm Clarifai

Match Group has agreed to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging it illegally shared user data from its OkCupid dating app with facial recognition technology company Clarifai in 2014, according to a Reuters report published Monday. The FTC complaint alleged that OkCupid, which Match Group acquired in 2011, allowed Clarifai to access user photos and associated demographic data without obtaining adequate user consent. Clarifai used the material to train its facial recognition algorithms, according to the complaint. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed in initial reports. The FTC's case centered on whether the data sharing violated OkCupid's own privacy disclosures, which did not inform users their images could be shared with third parties for AI training purposes. The case highlights the legal exposure companies face for data practices that predate current privacy regulations. The FTC has taken an increasingly aggressive posture toward technology companies that collect sensitive consumer data, particularly where that data is used to train AI systems or shared with third parties in ways users did not anticipate. OkCupid is one of several dating apps under the Match Group umbrella, which also includes Tinder, Hinge, and Match.com. Match Group is publicly traded on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker MTCH. The settlement adds to a series of FTC enforcement actions targeting AI data practices. The commission has previously reached agreements with companies over alleged misuse of health data, biometric identifiers, and location records.