Online dating competition investigation concludes
First published by Author on September 28, 2018 in the following categories: Advertising Compensation Claims and tagged with cma | competition law | online dating
The online dating competition investigation conducted by the CMA has come to a conclusion, with undertakings agreed by Venntro Media Group Limited.
The investigation was launched in October 2017 by the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) over concerns about breaches of consumer protection law. The concerns surrounded advertising, use of consumers’ data and potentially unfair terms and conditions.
Venntro has now agreed to a number of undertakings in order to satisfy the CMA’s concerns and ensure fair competition in the online dating sector.
Venntro online dating competition investigation leads to undertakings
The Venntro online dating competition investigation has led to undertakings that have been accepted by the regulator.
The CMA has confirmed that the undertakings include:
- removing from its terms and conditions a clause that gave Venntro the right to unilateral variation of its terms and conditions;
- clearer processes for cross-registration between websites and deletion of dating profiles
- clear prior warnings before the auto-renewal of certain long subscriptions;
- a right to cancellation and a pro-rata refund for certain members as a result of changes to be brought about by the undertakings.
The commitment by Venntro to change the way it present its dating services should now avoid the potential for imbalance in the sector. With greater clarity as to how consumer data will be used and shared, as well as a clearer service and clearer expectations for the consumer, online dating competition should remain healthy and beneficial.
Avoid consumers being misled to allow for healthy online dating competition
Consumers must not be misled if we’re to ensure that online dating competition is healthy. Numbers of genuine users as well as terms and conditions must be honest and clear.
The issue over genuine users on an online dating platform has been a longstanding issue. Companies have been known to use fake profiles to lure potential genuine consumers in, and this is unfair and misleading. This can have a negative impact on online dating competition in the market, which can only ever benefit the companies and not the users.
We’re pleased to see the undertakings have been accepted. The undertaking followed prior warnings issued by the CMA that all online dating companies must take heed of.