Brussels, 7 March 2024
Following a dialogue with the European Commission and national consumer authorities, Tinder has committed to inform consumers that discounts they propose for premium services are personalised by automated means. Tinder uses automated means to, for exemple, identify consumers who showed little or no interest in their premium services at a standard price to subsequently offer them personalised discounts. Personalising discounts without explicitly informing consumers is unfair as it hinders them from making an informed choice.
The network of national consumer authorities found that Tinder applied such personalised prices without informing consumers, which is in violation of EU consumer law. In addition, until April 2022, Tinder used to offer lower prices for their premium services based on age without informing the users. Tinder stopped this practice before the investigation started.
The Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC), coordinated by the European Commission and led by the Swedish Consumer Agency and the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets started the dialogue with Tinder in July 2022. After the dialogue, Tinder committed to the following by mid-April 2024:
- not applying personalised pricing based on age without informing consumers clearly and upfront about it;
- informing consumers clearly that discounts on prices for premium services are personalised using automated means and;
- informing consumers why they are offered personalised discounts, for example because they were not willing to purchase Tinder’s premium services at a standard rate.
Next steps
The Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC) will actively monitor how Tinder implements the commitments on the app, and where necessary, enforce compliance, for example by imposing fines.
Background
In 2022, a study from the Swedish consumer association demonstrated that Tinder charged different prices from one person to the other but that no clear pattern emerged as to which variables determined the price.
Under EU rules, businesses must provide truthful information to consumers and refrain from misleading consumers to influence their choices. The Unfair commercial practices directive foresees that traders have to provide material information about prices in a clear and intelligible manner. The Consumer Rights Directive obliges businesses to inform consumers about personalised pricing based on automated means.
The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) is a network of authorities responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. To tackle cross-border issues, their actions are coordinated at EU level.
National authorities are responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. Thanks to the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation, they have a common toolbox of strong powers to detect irregularities and take speedy and coordinated action against non-compliant traders. Moreover, the new Directive on the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules amended existing instruments by further enhancing transparency for consumers.
Cooperation applies to consumer rules covering various areas such as unfair commercial practices, e-commerce, geo-blocking, package holidays, online selling, and passenger rights.
For More Information
The Unfair commercial practices directive
Consumer Protection Cooperation Network
More information on consumer enforcement actions
Quote
It is a timeless and universal fact that the price is the most important deciding factor for consumers. However, personalisation techniques nullify the possibility to compare prices, effectively disempowering consumers in their purchasing decisions. This is why EU consumer law now requires that traders disclose whether their price is personalised through automated means. I am pleased that Tinder will now ensure that the rights of its users are fully respected.