Man sues dating app Grindr over harassment caused by fake profile
A Grindr user is now suing the dating app after he says that his ex impersonated him on the app and invited dangerous men over to his home and workplace to have sex.
According to Matthew Herrick, he dated a man from Grindr in 2015, but they broke up. After the split, Herrick’s ex allegedly started to use Herrick’s image to create fake profiles and gave out Herrick’s addresses, both to his apartment and to his workplace, in order to invite people over for sex.
At one point, in January, Herrick alleges that one of the men attacked his roommate when the roommate asked the man to leave and threatened to call police.
While the lawsuit does not give specifics as to threats of rape or murder, Herrick claims that there were several worrisome incidents which led him to fear for his life and safety, claiming that he lives in “a constant state of hyper-vigilance, afraid that Grindr has been used to incite or seduce the wrong person — somebody who will make good on threats to attack or rape [me].”
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Herrick added that some of the suitors had been told not to be dissuaded if Herrick was resistant “as part of an agreed upon rape fantasy or role play.” According to CNN, as many as 16 men in one day have showed up soliciting Herrick for sex because of the fake accounts.
“My entire life has been stolen from me. My privacy has been taken from me. I’m humiliated daily,” he told Wired. “It’s a living hell.”
Herrick said that he had lodged 50 complaints with Grindr and filed 14 police reports to no avail, forcing him to turn to the lawsuit for relief.
Grindr has said in a statement that it is “committed to creating a safe environment through a system of digital and human screening tools, while also encouraging users to report suspicious and threatening activities. While we are constantly improving upon this process, it is important to remember that Grindr is an open platform. Grindr cooperates with law enforcement on a regular basis and does not condone abusive or violent behavior.”
