Tinder Parent Match Group Enhances Board with High-Profile Appointments

Match Group Inc., the parent firm of popular online dating platforms Tinder and Hinge, has appointed two new members to its board of directors after talks with activist investor Elliott Investment Management.

Instacart's Chief Marketing Officer, Laura Jones, and Zillow Group Inc.'s former co-founder and CEO, Spencer Rascoff, will join the board immediately, Match Group said on Monday. Jones has expertise from Uber and Google, while Rascoff was Zillow's CEO for a decade, according to Bloomberg.

Match Group announced its information-sharing arrangement with billionaire Paul Singer's Elliott Investment Management in addition to the new board members. The agreement promotes board cooperation to create sustained shareholder value. Match Group will inform shareholders of its strategic intentions during an investor day.

Match Group's Move To Boost Its Value

Match Group Chairman Tom McInerney thanked Elliott for his constructive remarks and stressed the significance of a partnership with the investment company. Elliott Partner Marc Steinberg said that the board appointments helped Match Group flourish.

Steinberg, who highlighted recent management and board engagement, echoed Elliott's confidence in Match Group's potential for significant "value creation" as a worldwide online dating leader. "We appreciate the collaboration with management and the board over the past several months," he noted.

This change follows Tinder's commitment to explain cost disparities for identical services to EU consumers, recently reported by TechTimes.

The European Commission investigated consumer concerns in Sweden and the Netherlands before this commitment from the online dating platform. The complaints led consumer regulators to conclude that Tinder violated EU consumer rules by offering personalized pricing without proper notice.

(Photo : Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

In this photo illustration, the icon for the dating app Tinder is seen on the screen of an iPhone on August 14, 2018 in Miami, Florida

Tinder Slapped With Complaints

The European Union's executive arm considers tailored pricing unjust and prevents customers from making informed choices.

The European Commission announced Tinder's promises after meeting with EU and national consumer regulators. Consequently, Tinder will end age-based pricing by mid-April without warning.

Tinder has also committed to notifying customers that its premium service discounts are based on automated algorithms and explaining why, such as when users refuse to pay the usual cost. To aid users' decision-making, the European Commission stressed the significance of clearly communicating individual discounts.

Meanwhile, a class-action lawsuit alleging that Match Group dating apps like Tinder and Hinge intentionally aim to addict users and trap them in a "perpetual pay-to-play loop" is another cause for concern for the company.

Plaintiffs argue that the company's applications are meant to foster offline connections, but the secret algorithms fueling user addiction contradict this. Hinge describes its design as "intended for deletion."

According to CBS News, six plaintiffs accuse Match Group of violating consumer protection laws by purposefully creating addictive platforms that entice users to upgrade memberships and purchase additional services. These features offer a greater chance at love but mostly improve corporation revenues. The complaint claims the applications manipulate dopamine by gamifying romance and dating to induce habitual usage.

Match Group called the lawsuit "ridiculous," saying its economic strategy is not reliant on advertising or engagement measures. Contrary to accusations, the firm prioritizes dating and off-app usage.

According to its SEC filing, Match Group's income comes mostly from user subscriptions and in-app sales, supporting the plaintiffs' claim that the company's interests conflict with its customers's desires. The plaintiffs also claim that Match Group uses dark patterns in site design to trick customers into completing unintentional transactions or payments.