Dating Site Creates Profiles From Public Records 257
schliz writes "Online dating company Gotham Dating Partners has announced plans to create profiles for non-registered individuals based on publicly available information from social networking sites, e-mail registries, mailing lists, marketing surveys, government census records, real estate listings and business websites. Although the Australian Privacy Commissioner has warned that the automatic creation of identifiable profiles of individuals without their knowledge is 'not good privacy practice,' Gotham Dating Partners does not expect to face any privacy issues from the move, which is expected to boost its membership from 6.5 million to 340 million worldwide."
Ugly people date (Score:5, Informative)
The company operates several dating sites, including: Dons and Divas, Faithful Lover, Marry Me First, Prison Hookup, and Ugly People Date
Say no more
Dating site scams (Score:5, Informative)
Lonely men on these sites can now look forward to receiving more 'winks' from hot 19 year old co-eds (who aren't actually members or interested) urging them to 'upgrade their membership' (pay money) in order to reply to them.
Anyone signing up to these sites should check the Ts&Cs very carefully. My favourite is Ashley Madison's:
From time to time this service may include, offer, or initiate winks, collect messages or instant chat from Market Researchers (Online Hosts) simulating attached or single men or women. These efforts are conducted for market research and/or customer experience and/or quality control and/or compliance purposes. Market research information is used to provide analysis, feedback, trends, patterns, social commentary and information in the aggregate and aides in the process of monitoring our system for compliance of our operating standards and code of conduct. Accordingly, Market Researchers (Online Hosts) will NOT be conspicuously identified.
Any male signing up, can expect to be contacted by some impossibly hot young thing, within hours of sign-up.
libel and slander (Score:5, Informative)
It's not just a matter of privacy. Repeating false information about a person runs foul of libel and slander.
The credit rating agencies have some kind of weird exemption under law from being sued under libel or slander. So if a creditor gives a credit agency false information about your payment history, it's a huge ordeal to get this expunged, and meanwhile you can't sue the credit rating agency for broadcasting what would be a libellous falsehood in any other context.
These people, not so lucky.
I don't think the credit rating agencies want to see big issues surrounding libel and slander challenged in court. They have it good. Hardly anyone ever points out their cozy loophole. Either they'll choose to prop up the legitimacy of these fringe collators, or they'll be distributing severed horse heads to make them go away.
Re:Easy (Score:5, Informative)
Which leads to the question: why not just use Facebook directly? (And the alternate question: why hasn't someone tied together Facebook and a dating service yet? Seems like an obvious connection.)
http://www.google.com/search?q=facebook+dating [google.com]
http://www.facebook.com/zooskdating [facebook.com]
Re:Easy (Score:5, Informative)
Don't forget the 10% who are gay/lesbian and have no interest in what is most likely a heterosexually oriented dating service.
I think your figure is too high, it roughly corresponds to the number of people who say they have had a homosexual experience [avert.org], but far exceeds the percentage who are exclusively homosexual.