Daily US Times: After being criticised, dating app Tinder says it will no longer ban people using the app to promote the Black Lives Matter movement.
Dozens said they had been removed for encouraging others to sign petitions and donate and others complained they had been banned for simply adding the movement’s hashtag to their profile.
The dating app’s guidelines says Tinder account cannot be used for “promotional purposes”, but it now says banned users can now contact Tinder directly to be reinstated.
Hundreds of thousands of people around the world have been protesting following the death of African American George Floyd under the custody of Minneapolice police.
And Black Lives Matter supporters have been using social media to raise funds and awareness.
“Yesterday, I changed my Tinder bio to ‘All Black Lives Matter. If you don’t think so, swipe left [as I would not want to date you],’ and my account was banned,” one user tweeted, while another said: “I added [the hashtag] #BlackLivesMatter to my Tinder bio and the next day my account is banned. Yikes!”
Users who had offered to send naked images of themselves on other platforms to those who donated money to charities related to the Black Lives Matter cause claimed that their accounts have been banned.
A spokesman for Tinder told Buzzfeed News that members use Tinder to engage with topics they care about, adding that: ””And while our community guidelines state that we may remove accounts used for promotional purposes, we are dedicated to enforcing our guidelines in line with our values.”
The spokesperson added: “We have voiced our support for the Black Lives Matter movement and want our platform to be a place where our members can do the same.”
Tinder shared a statement last month in support of the black community and declared it would be donating an unspecified amount of money to causes related to the movement.
The company said it will not be silent when ”we see injustice in the word”.
Meanwhile, the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is accused of killing George Floyd. He made his first court appearance on Monday, where his bail was set at $1.25m (£1m).
Mr Chauvin kept his knee on Mr Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes – faces charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other arresting officers – who were also presented at the scene – are charged with aiding and abetting murder.