The lawsuit filed Friday describes how Doe, then a high school student who had not yet come out as gay, downloaded Grindr to befriend other underage boys. He then exchanged explicit photographs and messages with the four adult men, who raped him in their homes or in parks, according to the complaint.
After the teen testified at his criminal trials, three of the four men were convicted of sexual interference with a child and imprisoned for terms ranging from 24 to 54 months, according to the lawsuit. The room has not been located.
Accusing the company of being aware that its product facilitates the rape of children, the lawsuit equates Grindr with other organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church that have “turned a blind eye to the systemic exploitation of child sexual abuse.”
It accuses Grindr of marketing to children by maintaining accounts on Instagram and TikTok, social media platforms where many brands, from other dating apps to alcohol companies, also have accounts.
The lawsuit also highlights two TikTok videos, which have since been removed by Grindr, in which adult content creators pretend to be students outside a high school or in a physical education class. The lawsuit claims the latter “explicitly takes place in an elementary, middle school, or high school class.”
“With this video on TikTok, Grindr is marketing directly to children and targeting them with messages indicating that Grindr should be used in school and should be used by children,” the lawsuit states.
Grindr’s tiktok accountwhich has more than 138,000 followers, is typically taken over by adult content creators who post videos on behalf of the company.
The lawsuit claims Grindr could have prevented Doe’s abuse by employing a third-party age verification service, requiring a government ID to use the app or blocking its use in schools, among other things.
Lenihan, the Grindr spokesperson, said Apple, Google and the entire tech industry must work together to develop better age-control technology that also respects user privacy.
Doe is suing Grindr for defective design, defective manufacturing, defective warning, negligence, and negligent misrepresentation. He also files a civil action lawsuit. under a section of the U.S. Code. that deals with human trafficking.
