[Article to be found in the spring issue of têtu· magazine, available at newsstands or by subscription.] To combat the scourge of ambushes targeting gay men, four of the largest dating apps in France, including Grindr, have developed an action plan with the Interministerial Delegation for the Fight Against Anti-LGBT Hate (Dilcrah).
Illustration: Romain Lami for têtu·
Better late than never. While têtu· and several LGBTQI+ associations have been warning public authorities for years about the scourge of homophobic ambushes, dating apps had been burying their heads in the sand. Taking matters into their own hands to combat these criminal acts reported each week in the press, the Interministerial Delegation to Fight Racism, Antisemitism and Anti-LGBT Hate (Dilcrah), attached to the Ministry of Equality, has brought together LGBTQI+ associations and apps to develop a charter establishing an action plan.
In this document, which Grindr, Tinder, Happn and Bumble agreed to sign, the platforms commit to better informing users, to facilitate reporting of potentially dangerous profiles, to encourage profile verification, and to cooperate more with law enforcement. “These acts of violence of unprecedented brutality must stop, and we must do everything possible to curb this phenomenon” pleads Aurore Bergé, the minister in charge of combating discrimination.
Prevention
Information is the foundation of the fight against ambushes, so the apps commit to providing, from the moment an account is created, advice that they promise to repeat throughout navigation. Template messages could become personalized, since the apps promise to study the possibility of automatic analysis of conversations, in order to alert the user in case of a suspicious interaction. Already, the apps commit to strengthening their moderation capabilities, both human and technical, to both handle reports of dubious users but also to detect, thanks to “keyword detection” determined with the help of associations, “violent, discriminatory or threatening behaviors”.
Verification
A better control of users is also on the agenda of this action plan. The State encourages apps to implement verification systems “by selfie, biometrics or identity document.” A sensitive measure, given that anonymity on dating apps is a non-negotiable criterion for many of us. That is why this validation will be encouraged but not mandatory to continue browsing Grindr and its ilk. To secure their own navigation, users will have the possibility to filter profiles according to whether they have been verified or not. “The aim is not to restrict the freedom to use the platforms, insists Minister Aurore Bergé, but to ensure that this freedom can be exercised in greater safety.”
Reporting
The charter provides for a section dedicated to reporting threatening or suspicious users. A new specific category of reporting must thus be created regarding the “risks of violence and ambushes.” The partners of the charter commit to using it to study the quantitative evolution of these reports, in order to document the phenomenon.
Then, when a user is reported for this reason, everything must be done to ensure that they are effectively excluded from the apps. Users reported repeatedly in this framework may be identified by their “names, first names, device, email, phone or IP address” and thus remain “monitored” by the apps to “limit the risk of recidivism,” in other words prevent them from creating a new account once the previous one is deactivated. Finally, the State encourages, where technically and legally possible, to ban users from all services of the same group. And even to undertake collective work to block unwanted users from one app to another.
Cooperation
Finally, because it would be naïve to think that prevention measures alone will eradicate the phenomenon, the apps commit to cooperating with justice when assaults occur. Law enforcement and judges have highlighted a dire lack of communication with platforms, which makes it harder to gather evidence during investigations into homophobic ambushes; the charter provides that apps open a “point of contact” for authorities to file their requests directly. They also promise to transmit useful elements to investigations, notably the exchanges, so that they can be used if needed. “Aggressors must understand that victims file complaints, that they are often questioned by the police and that the penalties they face are severe,” stresses the minister. We can only encourage non-signatory apps to join the movement and the authorities to reiterate this format of collaboration on other prevention topics.
