Gay hook-up app Grindr, in the hot seat after a 15-year-old Canadian teen says he was assaulted by a 54-year old met via the free app, has issued a statement about the case.
App makers Nearby Buddy Finder are standing by their terms of use and parental control in the hopes of avoiding legal problems:
“Grindr has a very strict 18 years-and-over terms of use policy that all users of our service must agree to, additionally we actively monitor for potential violations of this policy and bar anyone who violates its terms.
We voluntarily have this policy in place to help protect the safety of minors. Unfortunately, as with any Web technology, people can find ways to bypass even the most robust control mechanisms.”
As an added protection, we encourage parents to add Apple’s parental controls to their children’s iPod touches, iPhones and iPads to help ensure that their children cannot access 17-and-over sites and apps (please visit Apple’s web site for more information).
Grindr strongly condemns the inappropriate and criminal use of our service and actively cooperates with local authorities on any alleged illegal activity on our service.”
Brent Tynan, 54, was arrested April 13 for with sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual assault following an incident that took place last August. Tynan was expected back in court yesterday.
Most of CoM reader comments tended to rule out any blame on Grindr’s part, does this statement reinforce your opinion?
Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco freelance writer who heads up Cult of Mac Magazine, our weekly publication available on iTunes. You can find her on Twitter and Google+. If you’re doing something new, cool and Apple-related, email her.
8 responses to “iPhone App Grindr Replies in Sex Assault Case”
I’m a Grindr user and although I think the picture policy sucks and the app in general isn’t that hot, there is no way on earth they can be blamed for what people do in private. The fact that any parent think they can dodge their responsibility when it comes to their children is just despicable. And a 15 year old boy knows enough about everything to make up his own damn mind anyway!!
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